MERCEDES-Benz is preparing to reveal the radical A-class supermini to the corporate market with a major fleet launch next month. The groundbreaking mini Merc has generated an unexpected amount of interest from the corporate sector since Mercedes revealed the first pictures last year.

In response, Mercedes has conducted extensive customer clinics with fleet customers and has invited more than 300 corporate buyers to an exclusive preview in the south of France next month. The A-class will be launched in the UK next June with a choice of 1.4- and 1.6-litre engines, to be joined within six months by a 1.7-litre turbocharged version of Mercedes' all-new common rail diesel engine.

Prices will start at between £14,000 and £15,000 on the road and about 7,000 examples are destined for UK showrooms next year. But with Mercedes dealers reporting some 30,000 enquiries about the model, even in a full year's quota of 17,000 vehicles, customers may again face a waiting list for a much sought-after Merc.