Mercedes has announced that they plan on building an E300 Bluetec Hybrid starting later this year—representing the company’s first foray into the world of diesel-electric hybrids. The car will reach European dealerships by early 2011. No word on whether or not Merc has any plans to release the vehicle in the States yet… so if you want it here, start making your voices heard now.

The car will be powered by the 2.2 liter, four cylinder, CDI engine from the E250. Reportedly Mercedes says the car can eek out more then 56 mpg. Granted that number is using British imperial gallons on the European test cycle. But, after doing the conversions and accounting for the fact that US EPA standard mpg estimates are usually 15% lower than European mpg estimates, we end up with roughly 40 mpg US. Considering how big and safe (read: heavy) the E300 is, that is certainly an impressive number.

Based on reader reaction to numerous previous posts here at Gas 2.0, diesel-electric hybrids are a type of vehicle that has always had a fervent following. Given that diesel is currently undergoing a resurgence in the US with both VW and Audi reporting huge demand for their new clean diesel cars, hopefully Mercedes will take it as a hint that the US is also ready for a diesel-electric hybrid.

Reprinted with permission from Gas 2.0