Mercedes Takes Cues Apple in Reboot of C-Class

Photographer: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg

Zetsche, chief executive of Daimler AG, left, speaks standing with singer Rowland during the Mercedes-Benz new unveiling ahead of the 2014 American International Auto (NAIAS) in Detroit on Jan. 12, Close

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Mercedes-Benz is touchpad technology pioneered by the and an iPad-like display to the C-Class in a bid to surpass Bayerische Motoren AG (BMW) in sales.

Mercedes is its best-seller with trendy features and technology from the S-Class sedan, including a camera and six radar sensors to safety systems. The German unveiled the model’s first in seven years at the North International Auto Show in .

By bolstering the 33,560-euro ($45,690) with top-of-the-line gadgetry, is looking to trump rival from BMW and Audi AG furthering its of leaping to No. 1 from third in luxury-car deliveries by the end of the decade. The new which goes on sale in in March and the U.S. and China in will help the Daimler AG unit overtake Audi for place next year, to forecasts from IHS Automotive.

customers are becoming much especially in Asian markets,” Sarwant Singh, an automotive with consultancy Frost in London. “They are looking for gimmicks. The new C-Class is much exciting.”

New Entry

Daimler Executive Officer Dieter introduced the new C-Class, Mercedes’ vehicle, at a hotel ballroom up the from the auto show’s Hall venue the night the official start of the Detroit Kelly Rowland, a former of Destiny’s Child, sang as the cars were driven on

Mercedes has been fighting after losing its ranking as the top-selling luxury brand to BMW in and dropping to No. 3 in 2011. Last the manufacturer narrowed the gap to Audi and BMW as the S-Class and new compacts fueled its sales gain in three

The 28,980-euro CLA small sedan, was introduced last year, the C-Class as the main entry-level by focusing on aggressive styling to buyers from other To set the C-Class apart from its stable mate, Mercedes the car essentially a downsized version of the

“The C-Class is and will to be the brand’s mainstream offering, to the widest possible potential base — from execs to retirees,” said Tim an analyst with IHS Automotive in “The CLA is positioned more for a image-conscious buyer” and won’t steal many customers the C-Class.

3-Series Lead

Including a coupe and an extended-wheelbase version for the line’s sales are forecast to 30 percent in 2015 from year, IHS estimates. That help lift Mercedes 17 percent to more than 1.7 vehicles next year, ahead of Audi as the C-Class the Volkswagen AG unit’s A4. Mercedes Audi last year by cars and BMW by 193,500.

Still, the is expected to continue trailing 3-Series, the world’s top-selling car, after the Munich-based expanded the range with a GT and added Sport, Modern and packages to increase customization it overhauled the model in 2012. means Zetsche probably achieve his target of toppling BMW by according to IHS forecasts.

Hood Ornament

While the remains sedate, Mercedes more contemporary flair to the including options for open-pore trim for a more textured a larger 8.4-inch display and a surround-sound system.

“I could in the car,” Ola Kaellenius, Mercedes chief, said in an interview in “The new C-Class is better in respect. There’s still a lot of for us to grow” in the entry-level luxury

The small sedan, which for about 25 percent of Mercedes is the cheapest model available has the right to place the trademark star in its traditional position on the hood rather than in the grille like on the CLA and other

A chrome grille with the on the hood is available on the C-Class as of 1,250-euro Exclusive package, the embedded logo is standard.

options include a head-up which projects speed and instructions on the windscreen to avoid and an air suspension that lets the switch between four from sporty to comfort.

The allows the customer to flip functions or zoom in and out of maps or images on the central display, juts out of the dashboard and resembles a tablet computer. The touchpad, can also be used to enter or numbers, vibrates to give the feedback that the command was to help keep focus on the

“It’s great that the range of S-Class technology is for the C-Class,” said Stefan a salesman at Georg Pappas a Mercedes and Jeep dealership in Austria. “The C-Class is now.”

To contact the reporter on this Dorothee Tschampa in Frankfurt at

To contact the editor responsible for story: Chad Thomas at

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