Frank Deiss (left), president & CEO, Beijing Benz Automotive Co Ltd, and Hangzhou resident Ran Ji, the champion in a nationwide driving skill competition organized by the carmaker. [Photos Provided to China Daily]

Underway for three months in 24 cities across China, a competition to test driving skills using the Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan has drawn to a close in Sanya on Hainan Island.

The program by Beijing Benz and its more than 60 dealerships was held to raise awareness of the locally made mid-priced C-Class and encourage safe driving skills in China.

Starting on Aug 6, the contest traveled from Beijing to Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Wuhan, Xi'an, Changsha, Shenyang, Xiamen and other cities as more than 5,000 young drivers competed in timed driving and parking tests.

The national finals in Sanya from Nov 11 to 13 included the 50 top competitors from city tournaments vying for the top prize of one-year free use of a new C200 sedan.

The top 10 finalists will be invited to join Mercedes-Benz's "car inventor's journey" in Germany and have the chance to experience the most stringent driving programs at the carmaker's famed test track in Stuttgart.

They will also get a glimpse of how the luxury car is made at its Sindelfingen factory.

A tour of the Mercedes-Benz Museum will show them the legendary 125-year history of the company that invented the automobile.

Shining performance

As the competition continued in China, awareness of the C-Class sedan was clearly rising, with October sales figures growing 17.76 percent over the same month in 2010.

Before an imported model, the locally made new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class made its market debut on July 16 at the National Stadium in Beijing. Priced between 308,000 yuan ($48,418) and 463,000 yuan, its target market is "elegant, confident, young and fashionable metropolitan elites", according to company press information.

The latest model has more than 2,000 all-new components, the most upgrades in Mercedes-Benz history.

Its eye-catching v-shaped grille and newly designed headlights reflect the dynamic temperament of the C-Class.

Delicate and considerate interior equipment showcase the car's luxury heritage.

Building on the strengths of previous versions, the new generation C-Class highlights "agility, safety and comfort".

Equipped with Mercedes-Benz's straight turbocharged CGI engine and 7G Tronic Plus transmission, it provides more driving pleasure and better fuel efficiency. Using just 6.9 liters of fuel every 100 kilometers, it can still accelerate from zero to 100 km an hour in 7.8 seconds.

"Peaking of driving experience and safety, the new generation C-Class is equivalent to our most luxurious products. It has set an all-new standard in its sector," said Joachim Schimidt, executive vice-president for sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz.

On Aug 24, the model's media appreciation banquet - themed "surpassing perfection" - was held at the Guangzhou International Car Stadium. The Beijing-Benz lineup on show included the new generation classic C180, elegant C200, and fashionable C260 and C300 models.

The C-Class sedan also served as the exclusive car for VIPs at the 2011 China Open and 2011 Beijing Professional Road Cycling Competition.

It also made debuts at the Chengdu international auto show in September and Hangzhou auto show in October.

Since the C-Class went on sale globally in 2007, its sales surpassed the 1-million benchmark.

Including earlier versions dating back to 1982, worldwide C-Class sales have now surpassed 8.5 million units.

As one China-wide C-Class driving test concluded in Sanya, another was underway from Oct 22 to Nov 27 in 40 Chinese cities.

Champions in each city who buy a C-Class sedan can directly enter the 2011/12 Mercedes-Benz Hailar ice driving final in Inner Mogolia autonomous region and compete for a ticket to the 2012 Mercedes-Benz Sweden polar region test driving tour.

The new-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class ready for the competition finals in Sanya.