Mercedes may find that they will have to cease all plans to produce their first hybrid sport utility for the U.S. market. The reason for this is because of Chevron and other partners have pulled funding for it. They are now unable to supply electric batteries needed to power the car.
Mercedes’ sport-utility vehicle for the year in 2000 was given rear side airbags, optional third-row seating, revised interior features, a new high-performance model, and a pair of “designer” appearance options. The M-Class will continue in V6 ML320 and V8 ML430 models.
In 2000 the ML55 AMG boasted of a larger V8, bigger brakes, exclusive 18-inch wheels with low-profile tires, and sport front bucket seats. Only an exclusive 1500 vehicles were made available for 2000. All models have 5-speed automatic transmission, now with Mercedes’ Touch Shift manual shift gate, plus permanent 4-wheel drive with separate low-range gearing controlled by a dashboard button.