Mercedes offers fresh perspective
By Russell Williamson
Mercedes-Benz's new E-Class mid-sized luxury sedan arrived in Jakarta earlier this month with a fanfare befitting a presidential visit.
With the theme of "See Mercedes-Benz with new eyes", reflecting the cars distinctive oval headlights, the launch brought what is recognized as one of the world's safest cars to Indonesia.
The new E-Class is available in two models, the four cylinder E230 and the six cylinder E320.
The 230, is offered in one trim level only, Classic, with the option of a five-speed manual version priced at Rp 225,000,000 or a four-speed automatic model at Rp 237,750,000.
The more powerful 320 is available in two trim levels, Classic priced at Rp 299,050,000, and Elegance at Rp 332,900,000. Both offer a four-speed automatic transmission only.
With its distinctive styling and luxurious interior, the new E-Class is expected to have a significant effect on the fortunes of the local Mercedes-Benz distributor PT Star Motors Indonesia.
According to the director of marketing, Friedbert Engisch, Mercedes is hoping to sell about 1,400 E-Class cars this year, with the figure rising to about 1,600 next year.
Friedbert said sales of the new E-Class - together with the superseded model - would give the company almost 70 per cent of the mid-sized luxury market, up from about 52.5 per cent in 1995.
The new E-Class features all the luxury features customers have come to expect in a Mercedes, including climate control air conditioning, availability of leather trims, a quality sound system, and performance and handling to match.
However, safety and environmental concerns are also a major priority in the new car which has received numerous awards around the world.
The E-Class is the first car in Indonesia to incorporate side airbags, in addition to driver and passenger airbags, to help reduce the injury potential for occupants in the event of an accident.
Large crumple and deformation zones with greater energy absorbing properties and rigid body and strong passenger cells also improve passive safety.
However, passive safety is only part of the equation. Active safety - the means of avoiding an accident in the first place - also plays a significant role.
Electronic technology such as an anti-lock brakes, which stop the car's wheels locking up and therefore enable the driver to maintain control in heavy braking, and electronic traction, which helps to stop the driving wheels spinning when moving off on a slippery road, are standard features.
Acceleration skid control, which operates at all road speeds and is activated when either one or both driving wheels lose traction is available as an option.
On the environmental front, a lower vehicle weight and improved aerodynamic styling have allowed the new E-Class to return fuel consumption at an average of 6 percent lower than the previous model.
All plastics are labeled for ease of recycling and a number of recycled and natural materials are used.
The quality of the cars reflects the $US7 million investment PT German Motor Manufacturing, the local Mercedes assembly operation, has put into its Bogor facility.
Under the Factory 2000 project, which commenced in May 1995 and concluded in May this year, the company undertook a dramatic restructuring of its assembly operations.
While the smaller C-Class and old E-Class were previously assembled on the same production line, there are now three different lines of production for each of Mercedes' passenger car ranges, the C, E and larger S-Class.
The effect of the separation of the lines has been to streamline production, thereby improving quality and efficiency to improve delivery times.