Mercedes unveils new luxury electric limousine van series

By Victoria Waldersee

SHANGHAI (Reuters) -German carmaker Mercedes-Benz unveiled on Tuesday a new all-electric luxury limousine van series called "Vision V" with some of the vehicles to be produced in China.

The vans will have lounge chairs that can fold down into a bed and huge screens that can turn the interior into a private cinema or karaoke bar.

"Today we want to give you a good look at our vision of a private lounge on wheels," CEO Ola Källenius told an event ahead of the Shanghai auto show.

"We are convinced there is enormous potential in China and around the world for a new segment like this," he said, adding that the concept and the production model will be very similar.

Like many other foreign automakers, Mercedes-Benz's sales have dropped in China, hit hard by stiff competition from local rivals and as a sputtering economy saps consumer confidence.

Its China car sales fell 7% last year and 10% in the first quarter while van sales tumbled 20% last year and plummeted 39% in the first quarter.

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee; Writing by Brenda Goh; Editing by Edwina Gibbs)

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