Mercedes-Benz has long been addressing such forward-looking issues and it has developed an impressive number of visionary technological solutions, foremost of which may be the innovative BlueTEC diesel engine, rightly considered one of the cleanest and most economical diesels in the world. With a Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC vehicle, you get superior performance and fuel economy, yet leave only the smallest possible environmental footprint.

Mercedes-Benz developed BlueTEC in two versions. The first supplements the already standard combination of an oxidation catalytic converter and an additive-free diesel particulate filter with a NOx absorber that reduces polluting nitrogen oxide emissions dramatically.

The second “blue wave” is rolling out now. In this even more efficient BlueTEC version, AdBlue (a scentless and non-toxic liquid solution kept in a separate tank in the spare wheel recess) is sprayed into the pre-purified exhaust flow. This produces ammonia, which helps the downstream Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) system reduce the nitrous oxide to harmless nitrogen and water vapour – gases that occur naturally in the air we breathe – thereby drastically reducing soot, pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming.