DaimlerChrysler AG, the world's second-biggest luxury automaker, is designing a version of its Mercedes-Benz B-Class car for sale in North America for the first time, Bloomberg News reported today.

The B-class, available in Europe since 2005, is due for redesign in 2011 or 2012 and prototypes include a model that would meet North American regulatory requirements, Ernst Lieb, chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz USA, told Bloomberg. The mini crossover is bigger than General Motors Corp.'s Chevrolet Aveo and smaller than Toyota Motor Corp.'s Corolla.

The B-Class would join Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler's Smart car among smaller, higher-mileage autos being offered as rising gasoline prices prompt U.S. buyers to consider more fuel- efficient models. Daimler scrapped plans to redesign the current B-Class model for the U.S. about a year ago because the euro-dollar exchange rate made it too costly.

Source: [url=http://www.caranddriver.com/dailyautoinsider/13554/new-mercedes-b-class-to-be-designed-specifically-for-north-america.html]Car and Driver[/url]