The new Mercedes-Benz E-Class is the world’s first standard-production vehicle to be awarded a test licence for autonomous driving in the USA state of Nevada.
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“Nevada is proud to serve as the location where Daimler, an worldwide automotive leader, can explore and test the possibilities of its cutting-edge autonomous vehicle”, said Governor Brian Sandoval.
Industrywide December sales of 1.64 million cars and light trucks pushed the yearly total to 17.5 million, according to Autodata Corp.
Daimler CEO and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars Dr. Dieter Zetsche revealed that unit sales in all the three core regions of Mercedes namely Europe, NAFTA and the Asia-Pacific all showed strong performances.
The C-Class followed closely with positive sales figures of 2,697 units, a 56 per cent increase from 2014.
Local production capacities were also expanded.
In contrast, Audi’s China sales slumped 1.4 percent past year, to 570,889 cars.
Under this collaboration, signed in August 2015, the first batch of trainees are expected to graduate this year and will be channeled through various after sales service centres nationwide.
O’Brien said French carmaker Renault and Germany’s Daimler were likely to be among the best performers this year.
Technical details of the 2017 Mercedes E-Class won’t come until closer to its unveiling at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show, but expect a wide range of gasoline and diesel engines as well as a plug-in hybrid variant and a diesel model.
In recent months Audi and parent company Volkswagen have been embroiled in a scandal over manipulated engines.
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In Britain, cheap credit, rising consumer confidence, falling unemployment and low inflation all helped to bolster sales, which rose 6.3 per cent to 2.63 million in 2015, beating a previous record set in 2003. Overall, Lexus shifted 11% more cars past year than it did in 2014. For the year, the brand’s sales rose 1.8 percent. It was actually the first time ever when more than two million people bought a auto from the premium segment.
