Tesco has purchased a fleet of 130 Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans which will begin to enter service at stores in the south and the midlands.

The order adds to the 1,700 Sprinters already used by Tesco to deliver its 280,000 grocery orders every week.

GAH Refrigeration units and insulated bodies with separate compartments for ambient, chilled and frozen products have been supplied direct from Mercedes-Benz UK.

The contract runs for six years and every two years the bodies of the vans will be removed and placed onto fresh Sprinter chassis.

Speaking to the transport news network, Dino Papas, fleet manager at Tesco, said: "The Sprinter is a premium vehicle with excellent reliability and highly competitive whole life costs, as well as a strong brand image.

"We’re clearly benefiting from the fact that Northgate is the single biggest customer for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles in the UK."

Northgate has delivered 5,000 Sprinters this year, the largest order that Mercedes-Benz had met in Europe.

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Chief executives of the world’s leading car manufacturers met in Japan last week to discuss the challenges facing the industry and acknowledged a commitment to address climate change.

Global fuel regulations and road safety were also discussed at the meeting to coincide with the Tokyo Motor Show.

According to Energy Efficient Motorsport (EEMS) the chief executives agreed to contribute to development to help resolve issue relating to the environment.

Mercedes-Benz has taken a lead role in the fight against climate change with the introduction of new technologies to improve the fuel economy of their engines.

This year the company has developed controlled auto ignition, a combustion technology that works in a similar way to diesel and the BLUETECdiesel technology, soon to be launched in Europe, has led the way in cutting emissions.

In California there are strict limits on emissions and the Mercedes-Benz E 320 BLUETEC complies with these rules, it has also been described by some as "the world’s cleanest diesel".

During the meeting, advances in hybrid, next-generation diesel technologies, fuel-cells and hydrogen vehicles were cited as the best ways to reduce CO2 and improve fuel-efficiency.

Advertisements, a TV commercial and an online campaign focusing on sustainable mobility will market the launch of BLUETEC technology in Europe.

BLUETEC diesel technology is being launched in Europe and Mercedes-Benz is promoting the "the world’s cleanest diesel" in Germany.

The campaign will run to mid-2008 under the heading of "TrueBlueSolutions" and according to Dr Klaus Maier, executive vice president Mercedes-Benz Cars, who is responsible for sales and marketing; it will introduce the mobility of the future.

"In our marketing campaign on sustainability we promote innovative technologies for environmentally sound mobility such as the BLUETEC emission treatment system," he said.

The campaign will feature the colour blue as a metaphor for clean air, and focus on the path towards zero-emission mobility through BLUETEC, BLUETEC HYBRID as well as the technical advances in gasoline engines.

The BLUETEC technology effectively reduces exhaust emissions of diesel vehicles and lowers nitrogen oxide emissions.

The only car equipped with the technology is the E 320 BLUETEC which has been named the 2007 World Green Car by automotive journalists.

The results for Daimler Group were generally positive in the third quarter with unit sales rising by four per cent to 537,000.

Unit sales in the Mercedes-Benz Cars division have increased by ten per cent to 337,300 vehicles, with the Mercedes-Benz brand increasing sales by nine per cent to 308,000 vehicles.

The smart brand sold 26,900 cars an increase of nine per cent on last year’s figure, the smart fortwo increased in sales by 77 per cent.

Sales of the C-Class and the S-Class boosted profits with continued efficiency of the CORE programme having a positive impact on earnings.

Positive growth in the Mercedes-Benz Vans unit was also achieved, with a 23 per cent increase in unit sales leading to a record level of 72,600 vehicles sold in the third quarter.

Mercedes-Benz Cars are expecting unit sales to the end of 2007 to exceed the record levels set the year before, with the company predicting a return on sales of more than eight per cent.

Taking time out at the end of a phenomenal first season in Formula One, Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton did some charity work.

Abbey announced Great Ormond Street Hospital as their first ever charity of the year for 2008 and the 22-year old went to the hospital to meet patients and promote the award.

Hamilton was pleased that his job in Formula One allowed him form close bonds with charities.

"Abbey and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity have forged a strong relationship which I am really pleased to be supporting and I’m looking foreard to helping them raise much needed funds."

Meeting the children was a special experience for the driving sensation and he felt bring a small piece of Formula One to the wards.

Abbey chief executive, Antonio Horta-Osorio, said: "We have enjoyed a great sense of teamwork this year working with Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity and Vodafone McLaren Mercedes as part of our sponsorship activity."

Abbey is raising money to fund research into the causes of child cancer and Hamilton’s visit follows on from the F1TM Party in July where children got exclusive access to the team garages.

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Mercedes-Benz World has announced a partnership with Delancey to build a hotel located on the Brooklands motor racing circuit in Weybridge, Surrey.

The 120 bedroom hotel will be built across two acres and planning permission for the site has been secured.

The hotel will be directly opposite to the Mercedes-Benz World, the largest brand experience centre of its kind in Europe.

Construction of the project is scheduled to begin in spring 2008 with the hotel opening to the public in 2010.

Known for its association with British aviation and motorsport, the site is a perfect place for a high quality hotel.

President and CEO of DaimlerChrysler UK Ltd, Wilfried Steffen, said: "Announcing the hotel acquisition now, as Mercedes-Benz World celebrates its first birthday, is an important chapter in the ongoing story of Brooklands.

"It has been 100 years since the circuit’s inaugural race, and 12 months since our brand experience centre opened."

Jamie Ritblat, chairman and chief executive of Delancey said it was an exciting project.

"We are also excited at the prospect of working in partnership with Mercedes-Benz World and the Brooklands attractions to maximise the mutual benefits available," he added.

The Mercedes-Benz Museum is home to the strongest man-made tornado in the world demonstrating the engineering and architectural brilliance of the company.

The tornado’s record attempt was confirmed as a success by Olaf Kuchenbecker, a representative of the Guinness Book of Records.

Built to eliminate smoke from the museum in the event of a fire, the central atrium has a fan at the top and stretches 34.4 metres high.

Fire protection regulations require all areas outside the fire level to be smoke-free but due to the open plan of the museum architects and engineers needed a way to remove smoke from the building.

If a fire occurs, 144 outlets along the core walls inject air to the building, this then generates an artificial tornado and the smoke is then discharged to the outside of the building.

Michael Bock, manager of Mercedes-Benz Museum GmbH, was delighted to have made a place in the record book.

"By successfully achieving the world record as ’strongest artificially generated tornado in the world’, the Mercedes-Benz Museum has once again underlined its outstanding position in the world of museums also in terms of architecture," he added.

On the back of a ground-breaking first season in Formula One, Lewis Hamilton will have a street named after him to mark his phenomenal achievements.

The 22-year old from Hertfordshire missed out on the championship by one point in his first ever season in Formula One racing winning four Grand Prix’s on the way.

The Briton scored 109 points and Stevenage Borough Council has decided to name a street in a new town centre development after the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes driver.

"Everyone in the town is enormously proud of the fact that Lewis comes from Stevenage," said Sharon Taylor, council leader.

"The success of Lewis has given everyone in Stevenage a real boost. In particular, our young people see him as a role model and his achievements have definitely raised their aspiration levels."

Naming of the actual street is yet to take place but the accolade is another to add the list at the end of a phenomenal season for one of the brightest stars in Formula One.

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Vodafone McLaren Mercedes’ appeal over the alleged fuel temperature irregularities surrounding the Brazilian Grand Prix will be heard on November 15th.

The FIA’s International Court of Appeal will hear the case next month following allegations of alleged fuel temperature indiscretions in rival cars.

President of the FIA, the Formula One governing body, Max Mosley, said: "A team presented an appeal; at the moment, this doesn’t change anything - it’s up to them to prove they’re right.

"For us, the world championship is over, the result is what it is," he added.

Lewis Hamilton, who missed out on the drivers’ championship by a single point in his debut season, has already stated that he doesn’t want to win a championship through an appeal or a disqualification.

Race stewards decided to investigate the alleged fuel irregularities though decided not to punish the teams in question, but Vodafone McLaren Mercedes lodged their appeal, feeling that justice was not done.

When launching the appeal last week, the team was keen to stress that it was a matter of principle and that it did not question the integrity of the teams involved.

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The 2007 season has seen the AMG Mercedes-Benz team come out on top in seven of the ten races in DTM.

Former Formula One champion, Mika Hakkinen won at the EuroSpeedway Lausitz and Mugello while Gary Paffett saw the chequered flag at Oschersleben.

Bernd Schneider won Brands Hatch, Bruno Spengler won at Norisring and Jamie Green finished the season on a high with at the finale in Hockenheim which followed his earlier win in Barcelona.

The new AMG-Mercedes-Benz C-Class was the car given to the drivers this season and was based on the Mercedes-Benz C-Class road car and it has produced the goods for the divers on the track.

Speedy lap times were a speciality of the team with Jamie Green and Bruno Spengler setting three fastest laps during the season.

Green did so at Oschersleben, Zandvoort and Hockenheim while Spengler was fastest at Norisring, the Nurburgring and Barcelona.

The team, through Bruno Spengler and Mike Hakkinen, also held five pole positions over the course of the season.

Matthias Ekstrom in an Audi, was DTM champion, winning on the final day of the season.

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