January 17, 2014

The significance of the W 201: The compact vehicle successfully opened up a new market segment for Mercedes-Benz

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*  The impetus for the W 201 came from the USA
*  A typical Mercedes-Benz in all respects – uncompromising in terms of safety, comfort and design

The decision makers at Daimler-Benz AG thought long and hard about introducing a compact model series below the executive segment in the 1920s and 1930s and then from the early 1950s onwards. Several projects were conceived, some of them very advanced, but for one reason or another they never came to fruition.