Mercedes to launch Hybrid limousine

Mercedes-Benz is to launch its revolutionary S400 Hybrid limousine in the UAE and the rest of the Middle East in October, Emirates Business can reveal.

Rivals BMW and Audi also have plans for large hybrid sedans but the S400 will beat them to the showrooms.

The new model, which will have a high-tech dual petrol/electric engine, will be part of a facelifted S-Class range that has just been unveiled by the German car manufacturer. Hybrid vehicles use less fuel and produce lower emissions than comparable models.

A version of the S400 Hybrid based on the current S-Class was displayed at the Abu Dhabi Motor Show last December and it was reported then that the car would be launched here in the middle of this year.

But now Mercedes-Benz has said that the car that was shown in the capital will not see the light of day and instead the S400 Hybrid will form part of the new facelifted range.

"We are going to launch the S400 Hybrid as an addition to the model line-up and it will be the first hybrid in our segment," Frank Bernthaler, Director, Sales and Marketing, of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Middle East and Levant, said at an event held to mark the launch of the new E-Class range.

"If you look at BMW and Audi we will be the first to market with a hybrid on the S-Class." Asked what the appeal of fuel-saving hybrid technology would be in a region where petrol was much cheaper than elsewhere in the world, he added: "It will be an attention-grabber not so much because it is a very, very fuel-efficient vehicle, just the fact that it's a hybrid in an S-Class, it's surprising.

"I love the question because you would think, 'why would you do that?' There would be no commercial need to do it but I think we are trying to be trend-setters as well as we can and this is for us an opportunity. We have talked to people about it and they all love the idea."

The S400 Hybrid, like all new Mercedes-Benz models, has undergone hot-weather testing in Dubai as part of its development process.

The S-Class is the company's best-selling model in the Middle East – one out of every 10 S-Class cars sold around the world is sold in the region.

Meanwhile, the new E-Class range goes on sale in the UAE and the rest of the region on May 1.

Initially only the three-litre, 3.5-litre and five-litre variants will be available, though further versions – including a powerful AMG model – will be unveiled over the coming months.

The mid-range E-Class is packed with cutting-edge technology to improve safety including radar units in the wing mirrors that warn the driver when a vehicle enters the blind spot and a system that detects when the driver is becoming drowsy.

Last month Aabar Investments bought a 9.1 per cent stake in Mercedes-Benz's parent company, Daimler.

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