20 New Mercedes Cars by 2014

The new model roll out frenzy seems to have engulfed German carmaker Mercedes Benz, who announced this week it plans a massive lineup of some 20 new models to be released by 2014. Given the current economic conditions, diversifying and expanding the offering is probably the only way sales numbers can be kept up.

The new Mercedes line up will begin with the C-Klasse facelift, a model which will be released in 2011 together with the coupe meant to fight the BMW 3 Series. 2011 will also be the year when Mercedes will unleash the new generation M-Klasse and the new SLK.

In 2012, the long awaited electric supercar, the SLS AMG E-Cell, will hit the streets in production version, just in time to fight Audi's e-tron. The new SL-Klasse coupe, the CLS, as well as the center models of Mercedes' future marketing strategy, the A- and B-Klasse, will also be released in 2012.

The GLK line is expected to hit dealerships in 2013, while the following year the cabrio version of the CL will be released.

The offensive planned in Stuttgart will also engulf the other brands owned by the Daimler Group. Smart will release the new fortwo in 2012, the result of the recently announced alliance with Renault and Nissan.

This comprehensive to say the least lineup is aimed at securing Daimler a sales figure of 1.5 million vehicles. The bad performing brands, smart and Maybach, are hoped to increase their sales figures to 200,000 and 1,000 units, respectively. The main goal: steal BMW's top spot as a premium car manufacturer.