Year of Mercedes-Benz E420

E-Class redirects here. For Chrysler's rebadged version of the Dodge 600 sold from 1983-1984, see Chrysler E-Class.

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class is a range of executive-size cars manufactured by Mercedes-Benz in various engine and body configurations. The E initially stood for Einspritzung, (German for fuel injection); a new feature in volume production vehicles at the time that the E-Class first appeared, with the E as a suffix to the engine nomenclature (e.g. 220E) in the 1950s. It was not until the launch of the facelifted W124 that the E was used as a prefix (i.e. E220) and the model referred to officially as the E-Class (or E-Klasse). Due to the E-Class' size and durability, the cars also frequently serve as taxis in European countries, and Mercedes-Benz offers a taxi specification as well as other special-purpose vehicles (e.g. police or ambulance modifications) from the factory.

Competitors to the E-Class include the BMW 5 Series, Lexus GS, Volvo S80, Cadillac CTS, and the Audi A6.[citation needed]

The 400E and 500E went into production on August 6, 1991, as 1992 models.

The 1994 E500 production ended on June 24, 1994.

Production of the 1995 E-Class W124 ended on May 23, 1995.

Production of the 1996 E-Class began on July 17, 1995.

Production of the 2002 E-Class ended on February 20, 2002.

Production of the 2003 E-Class began on May 13, 2002.

Through time the E-Class has been built in:

• RWD: Sindelfingen, Germany

• 1986-1995 Wagons: Bremen & Sindelfingen, Germany

• 500E/ E500/ E55 AMG: Zuffenhausen, Germany & Stuttgart, Germany

• 1990-????: Malaysia

• 1993-????, 2005-present: Thailand (by Thonburi Automotive Assembly Plant Co., Ltd.)

• 1993: Philippines

• 1995-present: Pune, India (for the Indian market) Joint-venture signed in 1994 with TELCO, India for manufacture of Mercedes Cars in India. First Indian made E220 bowed in 1995.

• 1996: Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

• 1998-present 4MATIC: Graz, Austria (by Magna Steyr)

• 2006-present: Pekan, Malaysia (by Malaysia Truck and Bus Sdn Bhd (MTB) of DRB-HICOM)

• 2006-present: Iran (by Top Khodro, a joint venture with Iran Khodro Diesel, for the Iranian market)

• 2006-present: Beijing, China (by Beijing-Benz DaimlerChrysler Automotive for the Chinese market)

W120 'Ponton'

See Mercedes-Benz W120 for details

The first modern mid size Mercedes was the W120 'Ponton' 180 of 1953. Sharing its engineering with the R121 190SL of 1955, the Ponton was a stylish sedan with four-cylinder power. A larger-engined W121 190 appeared in 1958.

W110 'Fintail'

See Mercedes-Benz W110 for details

Mercedes added tailfins to both the big S-Class and the new W110 'Fintail' 190 of 1962. Straight-6 power appeared for the first time in the 1965 230 model, and the fours grew in displacement that year as well.