Chinese customers are known for their taste in cars with huge room at the back and clearly Mercedes is aware of this, making it the third time an E-Class is offered with a longer wheelbase specifically for this market.
The long-wheelbase E-Class, which officially entered production at the Chinese joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive (BBAC), offers a 140 mm longer wheelbase for a total of 3079mm, which brings an extra 134mm of rear legroom in the cabin, making it the perfect chauffeur-driven car for many potential clients.
“The new long-wheelbase version of the E-Class is the third generation to be produced by BBAC,” said Hubertus Troska, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG. “It is precisely tailored to Chinese customers and was to a major extent developed in China”.
The new Mercedes E-Class L is built on the same line with the C-Class and is expected to continue the successful career of its predecessor in the local market. The company currently builds the E-Class L, the C-Class, the GLA and GLC at their Beijing plant which in 2015 produced around 250,000 vehicles.
“With the production of front- and rear-wheel-drive vehicles as well as engines, our team in Beijing shows its vast know-how while demonstrating its flexibility,” said Peter Schabert, President and CEO of BBAC. “In terms of surface area, BBAC is already the largest Mercedes-Benz car plant in the world and we are ideally placed for further growth.”