A coupe-style, four-door concept Mercedes-Benz will unveil this week at the Beijing auto show previews the entry-level sedan the company plans to sell here starting late next year.
Sources say the Concept Style Coupe will be called the CLA when it goes into production.
The CLA is expected to sit below Mercedes' C-class sedan in terms of price and features. It will compete with the sedan version of the third-generation Audi A3 that is due in 2013.
Gorden Wagener, design chief at Mercedes-Benz, called the Concept Style Coupe "almost production-standard" and said it "sets a new benchmark for avant-garde design in the executive segment." Sources say the production car will undergo mild stylistic changes from the concept car, but they say the basic look won't change.
Daimler Chairman Dieter Zetsche seemed to say as much in a statement about the concept car.
He said: "We are staking our claim very clearly here."
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