Mercedes-Benz: Tempted by an Apple

The Facebook generation will be at home in the A-Class Mercedes-Benz. The latest iPhone's entire content is accessible via a large screen on the dash. Photo / Supplied

Mercedes-Benz has turned to Apple in a bid to revitalise its image and attract younger buyers.

At the launch of the new A-class at the Geneva Motor Show, the company revealed a dashtop-mounted screen that integrates an Apple iPhone to give "the Facebook generation its natural home on four wheels".

Unlike other car brands, plugging your iPhone into the connector cable in the A-class will do more than just charge the battery and sync music.

The new in-car system features an app, developed in-house, that allows access to all content from the phone via the large screen mounted atop the instrument fascia, and operated from a control dial on the centre armrest.

Daimler's Digital DriveStyle app can be downloaded free from iTunes.

It allows access to social networks, internet, radio, navigation software with real-time traffic updates and a "car finder" that displays the car's location on your smartphone - should you forget where you parked it.

Furthermore, this set-up is synced with the advanced Siri voice recognition system on the latest-generation iPhone, meaning occupants can send messages, select music, check the weather or make appointments without needing specific, pre-programmed commands as required on other, similar systems.

Although this system debuts in the A-class, Mercedes says it will be available in the B-class, C-class and E-class ranges later this year. The brand has not yet confirmed if it will eventually make the new system compatible with other smartphone operating systems, such as Android.

The new A-Class is expected in New Zealand early next year and, for the first time, is to be sold in America, where the five-door version will be available from 2014.

"The A-class is the right product at the right time and has tremendous potential to tap into new target groups and markets," said Joachim Schmidt, Mercedes head of sales and marketing.

Mercedes did not market the first- and second-generation A-class in the US, largely because Americans were devoted to larger cars and SUVs.