History of development
The Concept A-Class is a 3-door concept car that previewed the design of the third generation A-Class and was unveiled at the 2011 New York Auto Show.[18] It featured the M270 four-cylinder petrol engine rated at 211 PS, radar-based collision warning system with adaptive brake assist, and exterior design language from Mercedes-Benz's F800 concept.
In mid-2011, patent images of the W176 were leaked.[19] The structural innovation was made by the chief developers for the body in white and safety at Mercedes-Benz. Jorg Prigl, Mercedes' head of development and design, states "the MFA also gives us the package room to fit a battery pack, fuel cell stack, hydrogen tanks and CNG tanks," stated Prigl. "It will allow us to build either an internal combustion or electrically driven vehicle, as well as a number of body styles."[20] The brand additionally describes the A- and B-Class as "the first cars of the next chapter".[20] The brand had also announced that three initial grades would be available: the "Urban", the "Style," and the range-topping "AMG Sport", and that it would go on sale in September 2012.[21]
The base model as well as the AMG model were both spied in 2012.[22] The spied AMG model had the grille and the logo being covered by a large appendage.[23] It was announced by Mercedes that the AMG A 45 model would feature a straight-four engine with an all-wheel drive powertrain. American magazine Car and Driver had guessed an A 25 AMG model would be available, although this prediction had never came to fruition.[23] A 4290 mm 5-door hatchback, the model belongs to the C-segment category and is collectively referred to as the W176.[6]
By July 2012—a few days before its production start—the W176 had already received 40,000 pre-orders in Europe, even before its September launch.[24] By late August 2012, 50,000 pre-orders had already been made, while by mid-November 90,000 orders had already been made, according to Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche.[25] This number, according to news agency Reuters, is double what the VII VW Golf had received, which was released at around the same time.[25] This makes the A-Class' launch the brand's most successful one of all time.[26]
The official series manufacture of this model began on 17 July 2012 at the Rastatt plant, while it had become available in most countries from September of that year.[1][27] The MFA platform which the W176 utilizes, was used on the Infiniti Q30 and QX30.[28]
Mercedes-Benz signed an agreement with the Finnish supplier Valmet Automotive to expand A-Class vehicle production, where Valmet would produce more than 100,000 units for Daimler from 2013 through 2016, the agreement was later continued to cover the rest of the production time of the third version which came to an end when production of the fourth version began in 2018. It's predicted that no less than 202,149 of the A-Class W176, B-Class W246, and the CLA C117 have been delivered in the first seven months of 2013, which is a 62.7 per cent raise from 2012.[16] In 2017 Mercedes-Benz signed a new agreement with the Finnish supplier for the fourth version.[29][30]
During the A-Class production period, former CEO Tim Reuss intended to market the third-generation A-Class in Canada, motivated by the success of the best-selling B-Class, which was unavailable in the United States. The recent free-trade agreement between Canada and the EU was signed in the autumn of 2016; however, there were no initiatives undertaken to implement the UNECE regulations, which ultimately did not take effect.[31][32]
Production of A-series BlueDirect 4-cylinder engines took place at Mercedes-Benz engine production plant in Kölleda, Germany.[33]
