New 2014 C-Class May Outsell Mazda6: Mercedes-Benz Aus

Mercedes-Benz Australia is confident that the style, equipment, price and performance of the next-generation C-Class will propel it past the less luxurious (but more affordable) Mazda6 when it arrives in local showrooms from July.

That would make the C-Class the second most popular mid-size car in Australia, putting it behind the evergreen Toyota Camry.

And despite being right at the end of its lifespan, the current C-Class is already catching up to the Mazda in the sales race. Last month Mazda sold 593 Mazda6s, while the Benz wasn't far behind with 532 cars sold. 

Year to date, the C-Class trails the Mazda6 by some 300 units.

"The new C-Class is going to blow you away, I guarantee it," Mercedes-Benz Australia Senior PR Manager David McCarthy told TMR.

"It’s a deeply impressive car. It is as good as the S-Class"

"The price of the [next generation] car and the equipment in the car is a very clear statement of our intent. We’ve owned that [luxury mid-size] segment for a long time, and we don’t intend to surrender it.

The range is expected to launch with the C 250 petrol and C 250 Bluetec, with the C 300 Hybrid and C 400 twin-turbo V6 expected to join later in the year.