Mercedes apologizes for SUV tweet, stresses CO2-neutral aim

Mercedes-Benz has apologized for a tweet that appeared to celebrate the carbon dioxide emissions of an SUV model.

The tweet on Thursday, which put its emissions at 193 grams per kilometer, added above pictures of the red-painted vehicle: "If this summer wasn't warm enough already, the Mercedes-AMG GLA 45 4MATIC will heat things up even more with this red-hot finish."

That prompted criticism from other Twitter users. On Friday, the company tweeted: "Folks, that was really not our finest hour. We apologize sincerely. We're working hard on the transformation of our car fleet. We aim for CO2-neutral mobility."

Germany and other Western European countries last week saw record temperatures in the region's second heat wave this year, amid mounting concern about the effects of climate change.