The Mercedes-Benz C-Class is a compact executive car produced by the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler AG. First introduced in 1993 as a replacement for the 190 range (W201, also nicknamed “Baby-Benz”), the C-Class was the smallest model in the marque's lineup until the 1997 arrival of the A-Class. The C-Class is built at Mercedes-Benz factories in Sindelfingen and Bremen, Germany as well as in Mercedes' factories in Brazil and Daimler AG's South African factory in East London. The very first W202 C-Class sedan was produced on June 1, 1993, and the second generation W202 C-Class rolled off the assembly line on July 18, 2000. The most recent fourth generation W204 C-Class was launched in 2007 after the success of the third generation W203 offered from 2000 to 2007. The C-Class is the entry-level offering in Mercedes-Benz's United States lineup.

The C-Class platform has been used for several coupes, including the CLC-Class (and its predecessor, the C-Class Sportcoupe), the E-class Coupe (and its predecessor, the CLK-Class), and again for the 2012 model year with the C-Class coupe.