Bild am Sonntag, Germany’s top-selling Sunday newspaper, has awarded Mercedes-Benz the “Green Steering Wheel”. This was the second year in which Bild am Sonntag awarded the Green Steering Wheel. Bild am Sonntag invited its readers to vote – by Internet, SMS or mail – for the best eco-friendly automotive innovation. Bild am Sonntag then asked a team of environmental experts to assess the eco-ideas which received the largest numbers of readers’ votes.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche accepted the award at the presentation ceremony in Berlin. Newly crowned Formula 1 World Champion Lewis Hamilton had driven the “Green Steering Wheel” onto the stage in an electrically powered smart fortwo; this electric vehicle had taken third place in the contest for the “Green Steering Wheel” and thus underlined the top position held by Mercedes-Benz Cars in the development of environment-friendly technologies to provide individual mobility in the future.