Mercedes E-Class celebrates half a century of success

With some 200,000 vehicles sold annually, the current Mercedes-Benz E-Class series is the most successful sedan in the upper mid-range segment.

Enjoying an average 24 per cent market share across the globe, the current E-Class (W 210) has clearly expanded its lead in the segment over the past six years.

The model was able to maintain its strong competitive position in 2001, with more than 187,800 vehicles sold between January and November worldwide, more than 1,300 of those in Australia.

The E-Class has established itself in all the world’s markets throughout its 50-year history. The Mercedes saloon and estate was the car of choice for approximately 25 percent of buyers in the upper mid-range competitive luxury segment in Australia this year. In Western Europe, that figure was 28 percent while in Germany it was over 37 percent.

"The E-Class is an outstanding image promoter, as well as a guarantee for solid sales and profits at our company," says Prof. Jürgen Hubbert, DaimlerChrysler Executive Vice President, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars.

"We therefore placed special value on an entirely distinctive design and have equipped the model series with trend-setting innovations. Our market leadership in the upper mid-range segment demonstrates that we are completely fulfilling our customers' expectations."

In 1995, the E-Class highlighted the passage of the Mercedes-Benz brand into a new dimension with the slogan "See Mercedes with New Eyes." It has been this unmistakable face that has most strongly characterised the E-Class and will continue to give it a fresh and convincing appearance in an improved version in the future as well.

The E-Class has been able to increase its market share from 12 percent to over 22 percent since the introduction of the current W 210 series in the U.S. six years ago. With more than 186,000 units sold (through November 2001), the model was able to capture a market share of approximately 16 percent in 2001.

In Australia, E-Class sales have risen by approximately 94 percent since the introduction of the current W210 series in 1996. Over 10,000 current model E-Class are now on Australian roads and the model has achieved a market share of approximately 25 percent in its segment this year.

A total of more than 1.5 million vehicles were sold between the start of production of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class 210 series in June 1995 and November 2001. Especially popular this year in Australia were the E 200 KOMPRESSOR, accounting for 38 percent of total saloon sales, followed by the E 240 with approximately 24 percent, and the E 320 with 19 percent. The most popular paint job for all models was by far "brilliant silver," which adorned 41 percent of the vehicles.

Awards for the current E-Class

'Ponton' Mercedes-Benz 190, model 1956 - 1959

The current E-Class model has received more than 70 awards in all categories over the past six years. These include "Import Car of the Year" (U.S. magazine Motor Trend), various other "Car of the Year" awards, the "Red Dot" design award (Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen), "Best Upper-Range Fleet Car" (Autoflotte magazine), "Germany's No.1 Car" (AutoBild), as well as "Most Fuel Efficient" (Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, U.S.), and "Most Environmentally-Compatible Car in the Upper Mid-Range Segment" (Öko-Trend Auto-Umwelt-Ranking).

The E-Class also attracted recent attention from experts and admirers all around the world, winning the title of "Best Car" in the upper mid-range segment in the annual readers’ choice vote held by the well-known automotive trade journal auto motor und sport.

Following extensive crash tests, the North American Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) also attested to the exemplary passenger safety provided by the Mercedes vehicle. The independent U.S. institute awarded the vehicle its top ranking, "best pick," which has previously been presented to only a very small number of automobiles.

The 'Tail Fin' Mercedes 200, model 1965

Nor has the E-Class had any lack of success in Australia. The Mercedes saloon received the Courier-Mail Queensland Car of the Year Award for the ‘outstanding luxury car’ for the fifth time in a row this year by a wide margin.

The E-Class has also become an established service vehicle valued for the model's longevity and dependability. "Thanks to its quality, image and the emotional reaction it evokes, the E-Class has become one of the most important company cars for mid-level and top management," says Werner Bicker, chief editor of the magazine "Firmen Auto."

"Its broad range of engines means the E-Class is available in many hierarchy levels as a company car. The vehicle's popularity in the fleet segment was successfully evidenced not least by the fact that it was named ‘Company Car of the Year 2000.’ "

Trendsetter in safety

Over the past few decades, Mercedes engineers have continually improved the E-Class, using innovative solutions to keep it up to date with the latest developments in accident research. The model has, for example, featured the electronic stability program ESP and window bags (as well as standard airbags) as part of its standard equipment since 1999. The excellent results of the IIHS crash tests confirm their high level of effectiveness.

Mercedes-Benz made full use of its safety technology expertise right from the start of the model series. After initial measures to improve passive safety had been taken with the so-called "Ponton Mercedes," the "Heckflosse" (tail fin) model of the early 1960s became the first mid-range car in the world to possess the safety body developed by Mercedes-Benz.

The history of the E-Class

The first vehicle in this series, the 170 model (pictured right), was produced in 1947 and marked the beginning of post-war production. It was followed by the 180 and 190 models, better known as the "Ponton Mercedes," starting in 1953.

Including the diesel variants, more than 468,000 units of these models were sold in the nine years of their production. Production of the "tail fin Mercedes," with the internal series designation W 110, began in August 1961. More than 628,000 of these vehicles were produced up to February 1968. This successful model was superseded by the W 114/115 series, also known as the "Strich-Acht" (dash eight) Mercedes in reference to the year in which production began. Daimler-Benz turned out over 1,919,000 of these vehicles in eight years of production, more than three times as many as the predecessor model. The "Strich-Acht" also brought with it new body variants in the upper mid-range category: the year 1968 saw the model range expanded to include a sedan with a long wheelbase as well as a sportier coupe version.

The W 123 series followed in 1976, yielding yet another variant — the T-model station wagon (pictured right). The T-model was not only the first station wagon offered by Mercedes-Benz, it was also one of the first models in this segment. More than 2,697,000 vehicles of the W 123 series had been turned out by the time production ceased in 1985.

It was followed by the 124 series, which contributed yet a fifth body variant to the upper mid-range category — a convertible, which at its debut in September 1991 ended a 20-year stretch without a four-seater open-top vehicle. The 124 series was notable in other respects as well. Following a model update in 1993, it became the first series to be known as the "E-Class." Mercedes-Benz produced over 2,649,000 vehicles from this series between 1985 and 1995.

The 210-series E-Class

The current 210-series E-Class was introduced in June 1995 as the successor to the 124 series (pictured right). Characterised by the prominent front end with four elliptical headlights and rear styling similar to that of a coupe, it offered variety in an eye-catching form and was popular from the start. The new series not only stood out through its unmistakable design, however. Another striking feature was the outstanding drag coefficient (Cd value) of 0.27.

The W 210 series has seen a total of more than 30 technical innovations such as the newly developed sidebags, a rain sensor for the windshield wipers, an air quality sensor for the automatic climate control system, and the ultrasonic park distance control system "Parktronic" (PTS).

The E-Class also lives up to its reputation as a leader in innovation through its very extensive range of standard equipment, including two dozen features that were not available in the previous E-Class, or only available as options. The electronic traction system (ETS) is one of these features. The E-Class is also state-of-the-art in terms of vehicle safety. Thanks to an optimised body structure with large deformation zones and an even more effective restraint system in the passenger compartment, the 210-series sedans (Coupe pictured right) are the safest automobiles in their class when it comes to overall design.

Mercedes-Benz became the first automaker worldwide to introduce systems to limit seat belt force as part of a car's standard equipment when it installed them in the E-Class in 1995. Lateral impact protection was also significantly improved through a newly developed sidebag.

The outstanding position occupied by the E-Class within the Mercedes-Benz model range becomes especially clear when one examines the statistics: Over 45 percent of overall passenger car production since 1947 has been devoted to the E-Class, representing a total production run of more than 10 million vehicles of this series through November 2001. And who knows? Perhaps the Mercedes Benz E-Class will still be around in another 50 years...