500,000th W212 E Class to roll off the line at Mercedes’ Sindelfingen plant

500,000th W212 E Class to roll off the line at Mercedes’ Sindelfingen plant

First introduced for 2010, the current Mercedes-Benz E Class has been a top seller for the German luxury automaker and this week reached a significant production milestone.

The 500,000th E Class sedan has now rolled off the line at Mercedes’ plant in Sindelfingen, Germany.

The particular car, pictured above, is a white E350 4MATIC sedan destined for a customer in the U.S.

Note, the 500,000 figure only represents the production of current-generation E Class sedans (code-named W212) and wagons (S212). If you factor in the additional production numbers for the separate E Class Coupe and E Class Cabriolet models then it’s easy to see why Mercedes’ E Class is one of the most successful nameplates in the luxury segment.

Mercedes isn’t resting on its laurels, however. Proving the ingenuity and flexibility of the E Class’ design, Mercedes recently unveiled two new hybrid versions of the car including a diesel-electric capable of 56 mpg on the European combined cycle. The new hybrids, the E400 Hybrid and E300 BlueTEC Hybrid, are being introduced for the 2013 model year.

Looking forward, Mercedes will also be introducing a significantly revamped version of its E Class for 2014, which is expected to finally drop the dual-unit headlight design that’s featured on the E Class for the past three generations now. And beyond that still there’s talk of an advanced E Class ‘Superlight’ model being developed, which is said to feature a carbon fiber body and hydrogen fuel-cell powertrain.