CATS Motors launches the all-new Mercedes-Benz A-Class
FELIX and Grace Ang with Mike Cua and guests
CATS Motors, the distributor for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the country, recently launched the all-new A-Class at Resorts World Manila’s Republiq Club. Conveying its youthful and dynamic design, it was an appropriate venue since it is where Manila’s party A-listers are often seen clubbing until the wee hours of the morning.
“The A-Class makes a clear statement on the new dynamism of Mercedes-Benz,” said Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Together with the successful new B-Class and three further model variants based on this vehicle architecture, it will be an important driver in our ‘Mercedes-Benz 2020’ growth strategy. We are expecting a conquest rate of more than 50 percent for the A-Class. And that’s why we say that ‘A’ now stands for attack.”
“Translating the new dynamic style of Mercedes-Benz into the compact class was a challenge that was great fun to tackle,” explains
FELIX Ang and the new generation of A-Class owners
Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes-Benz. “No other car in this segment is as progressive as the A-Class. Absolutely typical for Mercedes is the sculptural shape of the A-Class. The character lines, in particular on its sides, lend the A-Class structure and terseness. The new dynamic style is perceptible at first glance in the interior as well.” Its radical design language was first introduced with the “Concept A-CLASS” and this was incorporated into the production car, adding exuberance and excitement to the car. With a lower stance, the all-new A-Class sits lower by 18 centimeters compared to its previous model and cuts through the wind with a coefficient of drag of 0.26.
Its light modules and LED set up behind the headlamp cover have been designed to create the characteristic “flare effect” for the daytime running lamps and indicators that gives the car its energetic look and so helps define a new, youthful face for Mercedes.
GRACE Enriquez, Mercedes-Benz brand manager
The only model available at the moment is the A250 2-liter variant with the 7G-DCT seven-speed dual clutch transmission. But according to Bob Shaw, the vice president for sales and marketing for CATS Motors, they will also launch the AMG A45 variant. It is currently the smallest Mercedes-Benz ever tuned by in-house performance tuning center AMG. It seems like a busy year for CATS Motors, which is also launching the new E-Class this week and plans to unveil the all-new S-Class within the year.
