Mercedes-Benz India, the luxury car maker launched two new variants--E 230 and E 220 CDI of its E-Class range priced at Rs. 41.44 lakh and Rs. 38.99 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) respectively.

"The E-Class has sold more than 10,000 units in India since its introduction in 1995. Now, we have introduced Bi-Xenon headlamps in the exterior coupled with a three-way memory package and electrically adjustable steering wheel, all of which are now standard with the vehicle. The two new engines will further add to the popularity of the E-Class," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Wilfried Aulbur said in a statement.

The E 230 has a 2.5 litre V6 petrol engine with a 7G-tronic transmission.

It will be available with features like thermatronic (four-zone) air-conditioning, wood leather steering wheel and ambient lighting added on as standard offering.

The E 220 CDI is armed with a 2.2 litre, four-cylinder diesel engine.

Finally the Mercedes launched the new C-Class in 9th Auto Expo 2008, New Delhi. It has comes more Safety, comfort, agility: these are the outstanding attributes of the new C-Class. The Saloon excels with a many-faceted product concept which meets the expectations of various customer target groups. The debutante shares the latest, state-of-the-art technology. This includes the newly developed AGILITY CONTROL package with situation-responsive shock absorber control, the PRE-SAFE® preventive occupant protection system and four engines with up to 13 percent more output than the preceding model accompanied by up to six percent lower fuel consumption.

Mercedes-Benz has paid particular attention to the further development of the four-cylinder engines. In the petrol range, the C 200 KOMPRESSOR develops 15 kW/20 hp more than before. It has an output of 131 kW/178 hp and generates its maximum torque of 240 newton metres from 3500 rpm. These modified engines considerably improve the performance and fuel consumption of the four-cylinder models. When accelerating from standstill to 100 km/h, the C 200 KOMPRESSOR is 0.5 seconds faster than its predecessor. Improvements in fuel consumption are equally impressive: the combined fuel consumption of the C 200 KOMPRESSOR has been reduced by 0.5 litres per 100 kilometres.

The new C-Class's variants are available in Petrol and Diesel Version :

• Transmission -5 Speed Automatic/ 6 Speed Manual
• Number of cylinders / arrangement / valves per cylinder - 4 / In-line / 4
• Displacement - 1796 cc (Petrol), 2148 cc (Diesel)
• Bore x Stroke - 82 x 85 mm (Petrol), 88 x 88.3 mm Diesel)
• Rated output - 131 kW / 178 hp @ 5600 rpm Petrol, 125 kW / 170 hp @ 3700 rpm (Diesel)
• Rated torque - 240 Nm @ 3500 - 4500 rpm (Petrol), 410 Nm @ 2000 rpm(Diesel)
• Compression ratio - 8.5 : 1 (Petrol), 16.8 : 1 (Diesel)
• Boot capacity - 475 liters (All).

DaimlerChrysler India (DCI) will launch the new C-class Mercedes car it launched in Europe, earlier this year, in India early next year. Dr Wilfried Aulbur, company’s CEO and Managing Director said, “We are committed to bring in the latest products in the least possible time. In line with this strategy, we are looking forward to an early introduction of the recently launched new C-class and expect to offer the product in India by the first quarter of 2008.”

The car, which has got a complete makeover and also some additional features, will also see a mark-up in the price from the Rs 24-26.4 lakh (ex-showroom Mumbai) price range of the current models in the ‘C’ series. It will be the third – after the C 200 Kompressor and the C-220 CDI – to be manufactured at the company’s plant at Chikhali near Pune.