Stuttgart. Mercedes-Benz is this year the recipient of no fewer than three "Automotive Interiors Expo Awards": Hartmut Sinkwitz, Head of the Interior Design, was voted Interior Designer of the Year by the 17-member panel of world-leading motoring and design journalists. The new E-Class won the prize for the best interior of a standard-production automobile, with the touch control buttons on the steering wheel of the same model series being voted Interior Innovation of the Year. The award ceremony took place on 31 May in Stuttgart as part of "Automotive Interiors Expo 2016". Further information is available at http://www.automotive-interiors-expo.com/ 

"With the interior of the new E-Class, we are giving a new interpretation to the concept of contemporary luxury," says Hartmut Sinkwitz, Head of the Interior Design. "We have designed a spacious and intelligent interior. True to Mercedes-Benz's design philosophy of sensual purity, it employs technological innovation and high-grade equipment to create an exceptionally emotive experience for driver and front passenger. The E-Class thus not only sets a new standard in the executive saloon class. Alongside a workplace and private environment, it also becomes a "third place" - a living area in which passengers are able to enjoy contemporary luxury."

The E-Class is the first car to feature touch control buttons on the steering wheel. They allow the driver to control the entire infotainment system using finger swipes without having to take their hands off the steering wheel.