Mercedes-Benz E 320 BLUETEC begins the Diesel campaign in the USA

STUTTGART - October 10, 2006: To coincide with the conversion of up to 76,000 US filling stations to clean Diesel fuel with a sulphur content below 15 ppm, Mercedes Benz will be commencing sales of the E 320 BLUETEC in the USA and Canada within one week.

Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel (ULSD) allows the use of trail-blazing BLUETEC technology, making the E 320 BLUETEC the world’s cleanest Diesel car. The E 320 BLUETEC is the first and only Diesel vehicle worldwide able to better the American BIN 8 exhaust emissions standard, which is extremely stringent – particularly in terms of nitrogen oxide emissions. The E 320 BLUETEC will be available for sale in the USA (45 states) and Canada, and uses up to 30 percent less fuel than comparable petrol-engine vehicles in North America.

Owing to its enormous operating range of up to 1200 km on one full tank, the E 320 BLUETEC is exceptionally well cut-out for US driving conditions. The latest J.D. Power study "Global Outlook For Diesel" forecasts that Diesels will account for more than 15 percent of new registrations in North America by 2015. In the light of this, Mercedes-Benz will systematically expand its BLUETEC range. The company has announced that it intends to offer three further BLUETEC models in the R, ML and GL-Class - meeting the even more stringent BIN 5 standard - in all 50 US states as early as 2008.

BLUETEC is a modular emissions control system that reduces nitrogen oxide levels. These are the only exhaust components from Diesel engines which, due to the principles of Diesel engineering, still exceed the levels in petrol units. Mercedes-Benz has developed two versions of BLUETEC: in the E-Class an oxidation-type catalytic converter and particulate filter are combined with an improved, extremely durable NOx trap system and an additional SCR catalytic converter. The second BLUETEC version is even more efficient. Here, AdBlue, a non-toxic aqueous solution, is injected into the exhaustgas stream, causing ammonia to be released. In the downstream SCR catalytic converter the ammonia then converts up to 80 percent of the nitrogen oxides into the harmless natural products of nitrogen and water. The specific vehicle concept and weight as well as the deNOx requirements determine which BLUETEC system is used.

Beginning October 21 this BLUETEC technology will be subjected to an endurance test of a very special kind, when 33 E-Class cars including three E 320 BLUETEC models embark on a journey from Paris to Peking. Over the course of 26 days each of these vehicles will cover 13,600 kilometres under extreme conditions on a journey which will take them across eight national borders.

BLUETEC: Highly successful in commercial vehicles – the result of a clear strategy

The BLUETEC technology developed by Mercedes-Benz benefits from the company’s extensive know-how in building low-emission commercial vehicles, where this technology has already proved highly successful since early 2005 and is meantime available in all model series. A total of 33,000 Mercedes-Benz trucks and buses from the brands Mercedes-Benz and Setra have already been sold with BLUETEC.

Mercedes-Benz first demonstrated the potential of this new emissions technology for passenger cars in June 2005 in Washington when it displayed the Mercedes-Benz bionic car, a concept vehicle based on findings from bionic research.

Since January 2005, DaimlerChrysler began a public dialogue on the subject of this innovative technology when it introduced a total of 6 BLUETEC showcars in the E, CLS, R, ML and GL-Class, as well as a Chrysler Grand Cherokee BLUETEC. In 1936 Mercedes-Benz introduced the world’s first series production Diesel car into the market, and has continued to set standards in this field with numerous innovative Diesel technologies.