S, E and C-Class hybrid coming to USA

The first hybrid model from Mercedes, the S400 BlueHYBRID will go on sale in Europe in the summer of 2009 and on the US market on the fall of the same year. It will be followed by two other vehicles: E-class hybrid will debut when the new generation goes on sale in 2010 and the C-Class hybrid will be the last one to come. An electric version of the Smart ForTwo will also be available.

"We have decided on hybridization on all of our cars in the future and so far we have had a lot of questions and excitement, but I don’t know how that will translate into a take rate," Zetsche said at the Paris auto show.

Mercedes also will build 1,000 electric Smart ForTwo cars in the coming year for pre-production trials in Europe and possibly the United States. In 2012, annual production will rise to between 12,000 and 15,000 electric Smart cars, and some will be offered in the United States, Zetsche said.