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Home » World car award for C-Class shows up in NZ success for Mercedes-Benz

World car award for C-Class shows up in NZ success for Mercedes-Benz

April 3, 2015 by Alastair Sloane

Record registrations in New Zealand of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in the first quarter of 2015 reflects the unprecedented success of the brand in the 11th annual World Car of the Year awards.

At the end of March the NZ Transport Agency had registered 563 Benz passenger cars, a quarterly result that puts the brand ahead of German rivals BMW (507) and Audi (479) for the first time in recent memory.

One of the reasons for Benz’s early domination of the NZ luxury market’s numbers game is the appeal of the medium C-Class model (top), chosen by 75 motoring journalists worldwide this week as the 2015 World Car of the Year. The C-Class beat shortlisted contenders the Volkswagen Passat and Ford Mustang.

BMW i8, world 'green' car of 2015
BMW i8, world ‘green’ car of 2015

Mercedes-Benz chairman Dr Dieter Zetsche said the C-Class has always been a trendsetter in the premium medium-siz category. “It comes to the starting line-up with qualities usually reserved for high-class automobiles,” he said.

“It embodies what we understand modern automobile luxury by Mercedes-Benz to be and has all the rerequisites to be a huge success.” The award was presented to Dr Zetsche at this week’s New York motor show. Benz also won two other ‘world car’ gongs: the S-Class coupe won the luxury segment and the Mercedes-AMG GT the ‘performance’ division.

The luxury German was the only carmaker to make it into the final round of the world awards with five vehicles, an unprecedented result in the history of an event dominated by German carmakers. Last year’s winner was the Audi A3. The all-electric Nissan Leaf is the only non-German car to win the title in the past seven years.

Citroen C4 Cactus, world 'design' winner for 2015
Citroen C4 Cactus, world ‘design’ winner for 2015

The BMW i8 was voted world green car of 2015 and the Citroen C4 Cactus picked up the design award. Both the i8 and Cactus are now on sale in NZ, the plug-in hybrid i8 priced from $278,000, the Cactus from $35,990.

Registrations at the end of March in NZ showed the new vehicle market continued to be strong. There remained a clear bias towards SUVs and light pick-up trucks, which accounted for around 55 per cent of the 32,267 new vehicles registered in the first three months of 2015.

SUVs alone totaled 10,469 registrations, or almost 34 per cent; the 6411 pick-ups and cab/chassis units were just short of 22 per cent. New-vehicle registrations averaged 10,755 a month till the end of March, an 8 per cent hike to date on 2014 numbers. The Toyota Corolla remains the most popular passenger car; the Ford Ranger the No.1 commercial.

March alone was the strongest March for registrations in more than 30 years, with 11,755 passenger and light commercial vehicles on the NZTA books. Toyota was the overall market leader with 15 per cent market share (1788 units) followed by Holden with 10 per cent (1151) and Ford 9 per cent (1090). Mitsubishi filled fourth place with 8 per cent (937).

Top 15 brands (cars and commercials) at the end of March

Toyota 5746 (17%); Holden 3639 (11%); Ford 3069 (9%); Mazda 2446 (7%); Hyundai 2316 (7%); Mitsubishi 2209 (7%); Nissan 2128 (6%); Volkswagen 1520 (5%); Suzuki 1139 (3%); Honda 1041 (3%); Kia 760 (2%); Mercedes-Benz 673 (2%): Subaru 527 (2%); BMW 507 (2%); Ssangyong 505 (2%); Others 5051 (15%).

 

 

Filed Under: Highlights, Industry news, Latest news Tagged With: NZ car sales

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The Good Oil

French carmaker Renault has won the 2025 European Car of the Year award with the all-electric R5 supermini (pictured). It’s the brand’s second win in a row, following the new Scenic’s gong in 2024. The R5 led the vote count from start to finish from the 60 jurors in 23 countries. It received 353 points, beating the Kia EV3 (291 points) and the Citroen C3/e in third place with 215 points. It’s Renault’s eighth win in the 62-year history of the Coty award. The R5 goes on sale in the UK this month. There are two main drivetrains: a 90kW motor/40kWh battery model with a 300km range, and a 112kW/52kWh example with a 400km range. The R5 starts in price at £22.995, or $NZ50,000.

EU carmakers seek trade deal with Trump

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are among carmakers urging the European Union to get a favourable trade deal with US President Donald Trump. The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA) wants to keep open trade with both the US and China. It fears Trump, who promises heavy tariffs on Chinese imports to the US, will look unfavourably on countries that continue to trade freely with Beijing. Ola Kallenius, president of the group and chairman of the management board of MB, said in a letter to EU leaders:  “Overall, it is essential to recognise that trade with China and the US is most vital for the prosperity of the European economy.The EU should seek a grand bargain with the US and attempt to avoid a potential trade conflict.”

Diesel fuels EV concept for US military

A  go-anywhere EV concept for the US military uses an onboard 12kW diesel generator to top up the batteries on the move.  The all-wheel-drive has 800-volt technology and a 200kWh battery pack to power three electric motors, two in the rear and one up front. Claimed output is 745kW/15,590Nm, or 1000hp and 11,500 ft-lb of torque.  The four-seater was developed by the defence division of General Motors and is based on the platform of the Hummer SUV. It rides on Fox performance shock absorbers and 37-inch tyres and comes with “exceptional” approach and departure angles for off-road mobility. Maximum range using the generator to keep things ticking over is said to be around 500km.

We are the World

The outside temperature in Midland, Texas, was 40.5C when staff at the local office of the US National Weather Service set out to show the cabin of a closed car can literally get baking hot in summer. They mixed up a batch of chocolate chip cookies and laid them on the car’s dashboard – the surface of which showed a temperature of 87.7C. A little over four hours later the cookies were ready to eat. “Even though ours weren’t golden brown, we can confirm that they are done and delicious,” the staff wrote on Facebook.

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Electric G-Wagen takes you for spin

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