First Mercedes Benz B-Klasse F-CELL Delivered to US Customer

Automakers are battling amongst themselves in a race towards eco-friendly mobility and a sustainable society. The first Nissan LEAF and Chevrolet Volt were delivered just days earlier and now it's the Europeans' turn to begin deliveries of their eco machine. The first new Mercedes Benz F-CELL hydrogen powered B-Klasse vehicles are now available to California drivers.

The very first Mercedes Benz B-Klasse F-CELL was presented to its new owner, Mr. Vance Van Petten, during an official hand-over at the recently renovated dealership of Fletcher Jones Mercedes-Benz in Newport Beach.

"As a long-time environmental advocate and supporter of sustainable production and eco-friendly transport, I'm thrilled to be driving a vehicle that I believe represents the future of environmentally thoughtful transportation -- not only does it have zero emissions, but it also provides me with all of the safety technology one expects from Mercedes-Benz," said Mr. Van Petten, Executive Director of the Producers Guild of America.

Mr. Van Petten is part of an exclusive group of people involved in a Mercedes Benz lease program for the B-Klasse F-CELL Hydrogen car. These vehicles will provide driving data to the Department of Energy to support their Hydrogen to the Highways program, as part of an initiative to further develop F-CELL vehicles and gain real-world experience in the US.

Mercedes Benz has selected candidates for its F-CELL lease program through its own survey and vetting process to determine who among the many applicants would become among the first to lease the F-CELL hydrogen vehicles. Those interested in leasing an F-CELL can visit Mercedes Benz's US website to get additional information and apply.

"The introduction of the F-CELL in California marks the beginning of zero emission Fuel Cell technology in the US for Mercedes-Benz," said Sascha Simon, head of advanced product planning at Mercedes-Benz USA. "With a range of 240 miles that never needs to be plugged and more than 15 years of Mercedes-Benz research already committed to the technology, we believe this is a great addition to our fast growing portfolio of alternative fuel vehicles that customers can choose from to best suit their lifestyle."