German luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz has introduced the compact sports tourer B-Class with an entry level price of Rs 21,49,000 (Ex-showroom Mumbai). The new car model is the carmaker’s cheapest product in India so far and the country’s first sports tourer.
The B-Class can be availed in two variants namely B 180 and the B 180 Sport with price tags Rs 21,49,000 and Rs 24,87,000 respectively (Ex-showroom Mumbai). The new tourer is equipped with a 1.6 liter petrol engine that offers 122PS of power and is mated with the Mercedes 7-speed dual clutch gearbox that features 3 driving modes. The top speed for the new car model is claimed to be 190 kilometers per hour. Among various features the luxury car offers 7 airbags for safety which include a knee airbag as well.
According to Mr. Debashis Mitra Director Sales & Marketing Mercedes-Benz India, the company feels that the new tourer has enabled it to tap the latent demand for sports tourers and that the there is significant potential in this newly introduced segment.
The automaker expects the new tourer to cater to young and aspiring salaried class customers. Mercedes-Benz foresees about 40-50 percent of its total sales in India to be accounted for by cars priced in the Rs 20,00,000-Rs 25,00,000 price bracket by year 2017-2018.