Mercedes Benz is currently in the race to capture the top spot in the luxury car segment in India and has been launching a slew of cars off late. The company has officially announced that it will be launching the Mercedes-Benz B-Class diesel on the 11th of July.
Updated on 11th July 2013
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class diesel has been launched in India.
Price
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class 180 CDI is priced at 22.60 Lakh, ex-showroom Mumbai.
In comparison the Petrol B 180 is priced at Rs. 21.49 Lakh and the B 180 Sports is priced at Rs. 24.87 Lakh
Updated on 8th July, 2013
The B-Class is essentially a mini-MPV as it way bigger than a hatchback but smaller than a SUV or a MPV. The car has a MPV-ish stance which makes it quite the spacious unit. The B-Class was launched in India on 18th September 2012, but was only available with a petrol engine and understandably it hasn’t sold as well as the company hoped it would. Since 9 out of 10 luxury cars sold in India have a diesel heart, the company thought that it might as well bring in the diesel unit as it is expected to find a lot of takers.
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class diesel will come with a 2.2 litre, 4 cylinder motor under the hood which powers the A-Class as well. It develops a maximum power of 107 BHP and a peak torque of 250 Nm. The same engine in different states-of-tune can be found in the C-Class and E-Class as well. It will be slotted below the petrol engine variant like the A-Class, thus making it a value for money car.
The car will initially be a brought to India as a CBU (Completely Built Unit) as the company plans on starting the assembly of CKD (Completely Knocked-Down) units only in 2014. That is when the prices of both the A-Class and B-Class are expected to go south. Also, 2014 will see the launch of the cheapest sedan from the company, the CLA, which will go head on with the Audi A3 and the upcoming BMW 2-series sedan.
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class diesel variant is expected to ride on 16 inch alloys instead of the 17 inchers found on its petrol sibling. It might miss out on the panoramic sunroof as well to keep a tab on the costs.
We will bring you live updates from the launch event of the B-Class on the 11th of July. We can safely assume that the car will cost more than Rs 22 lakhs but less than Rs 25 lakhs. Stay tuned to Car Blog India for more updates.
