First Mercedes-Benz GLK Handed Over to Customer

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Bremen, Germany, Oct 20, 2008

* The first Mercedes-Benz GLK after the market launch is handed over by plant manager Peter Schabert in the Bremen Customer Center.

* Peter Schabert: �The GLK is our most important new model this year, so I am particularly delighted to personally hand over the first GLK to its owner.�

Magdalena Dietz, 29, entrepreneur and PR consultant, today received the key to her new Mercedes-Benz GLK from Bremen plant manager Peter Schabert. Ms. Dietz is the first customer to take delivery of a vehicle of the entirely new GLK-Class following its market launch. The handover - of a GLK 320 CDI 4MATIC in metallic tenorite gray with numerous optional equipment features - took place in the Customer Center of the Bremen plant.


�The GLK is our most important new model this year,� said plant manager Peter Schabert. �It is the first compact sport utility vehicle (SUV) from Mercedes-Benz and the first Mercedes-Benz SUV �Made in Bremen�, so I am particularly delighted to personally hand over the first GLK to its owner. I am sure she will be impressed by its unmistakable look, outstanding performance - on and off the road - and its safety and comfort.�

Ms. Dietz and her husband Christian live in the city of D�ren near Aachen and are the owners of the public relations agency �wortsuchttext.� �The GLK is simply a perfect match for our agency: it has a modern character and stands out clearly from its competitors,� said Ms. Dietz. �As the first GLK customer following the market launch, I am very pleased to get our GLK handed over personally in its birthplace by the plant manager himself - and now, after weeks of anticipation, I can�t wait to take the vehicle out for a spin for the first time.�

Ms. Dietz� family also have been loyal Mercedes-Benz customers for many years: family members have been E-Class and C-Class drivers in the past and currently drive an M-Class. �Combining a visit to the Customer Center with a tour of the adjacent Mercedes-Benz plant is certainly the most enjoyable way to accept delivery of a new Mercedes-Benz. In the past we have picked up our vehicles at the Sindelfingen and Bremen plants,� said Ms. Dietz.

The new GLK-Class

The GLK is the fifth production series of the successful Mercedes-Benz family of SUVs, which also includes the G-Class, GL-Class, M-Class, and R-Class. With the addition of the GLK, the premium segment�s most diverse line-up of SUVs is now enhanced by a compact vehicle.

Even before its official market launch the GLK-Class had generated a lot of interest among customers: worldwide, 25,000 orders were placed for the GLK between its official release for sale on June 30th and the end of September.

Mercedes-Benz offers four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines for the GLK that are powerful as well as economical. The brand will also begin offering a BlueEFFICIENCY model in the spring of 2009 - the GLK 220 CDI featuring a new four-cylinder diesel engine. The GLK-Class features pioneering passive safety systems, excellent interior comfort and a low noise level, and excellent value retention. For the first time in this market segment, Mercedes-Benz is also making available state-of-the-art systems such as the PRE-SAFE� safety package and the ILS intelligent light system.

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