Mercedes-Benz India to launch A-Class hatchback tomorrow

Mercedes-Benz India will launch the A-Class hatchback for the Indian market tomorrow. The A-Class in its third iteration is a new vehicle based on the German automaker MFA platform (modular front wheel drive architecture). It was launched for the European markets in May last year and is currently in high demand as Mercedes-Benz is currently running three shifts at its Rastatt plant to meet the demand. 

The A-Class that will be launched here is the A180 variant with both petrol and diesel engines. The oil burner is a 1.5-litre mill producing 110PS and 260Nm of torque. The petrol mill is a 1.6-litre turbocharged unit producing 123PS and 200Nm of torque. Power will be transmitted to the front the front wheels via 7Gtronic gearbox across both variants. 

Mercedes-Benz has said that it will initially import the car via the CBU route but will begin assembling it locally by the end of the year. The A-Class is a part of a five car sub Rs 25 lakh range that the German automaker will launch for the Indian market by 2015. The first car in this range was the B-Class petrol that was unveiled in October last year.  

We expect that Mercedes-Benz will price the car in the range of Rs 20 lakh to Rs 24 lakh and it will compete with the upcoming Audi A3 and the BMW 1-Series.