One by one, the luxury automakers are turning towards greener vehicles.
First came Lexus, expanding its hybrid range with every model. Then BMW, with a hybrid here and there and a wider diesel range. Then there was Audi, which recently announced a plug-in hybrid A3 e-Tron.
Now it’s the turn of Mercedes-Benz, which will offer both hybrid and diesel versions of its C Class sedan when the new model debuts in August 2014.
It’s partly aimed at digging into BMW’s lead with the 3-Series, reports Automotive News.
Not only with the next C Class offer a greater powertrain range, but a convertible model will also join the lineup after sales begin next year.
The next-gen C Class is expected to debut at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show next January, and after sales start in late 2014, convertible and coupe models will arrive in 2015. A wagon version will not be available in the U.S, the company citing low demand.
Diesel, hybrid and all-wheel drive models will join the range, the hybrid touted for 2015. It isn’t yet clear whether the diesel will be available from launch, nor what engine will be introduced.
Mercedes-Benz sells several diesel variants of the existing C Class in Europe, several of which use the same 2.1-liter four-cylinder unit set to arrive in the U.S. shortly, in the E Class, ML SUV and GLK crossover.
Hybrids could begin to play a larger part in Mercedes’ future lineup.
Its tuning arm AMG recently announced it believes hybrids will be the future of performance cars, allowing carmakers to keep more responsive, tuneful gasoline engines without sacrificing economy.
The firm also believes downsizing and turbocharging will be the next development stage, as demonstrated in the upcoming Mercedes-Benz CLA.
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