First 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive Sold Last Month

Last month, 41 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive hatchbacks were delivered to their owners, marking the first month of sales for the first battery-electric vehicle from the German luxury maker.

The official first buyer, Kim Price, lives south of Los Angeles in Mission Viego; she's been a Mercedes driver for 15 years.

DON'T MISS: 2014 Mercedes-Benz B-Class Electric Drive: First Drive

Last year, Price took a new job as vice president of operations at PetHead, a pet-care products company in West Hollywood--requiring her to drive 70 miles each way, four days a week.

"I knew I needed a new way to commute," Price told Green Car Reports.

"I'm not only concerned about the carbon footprint of all that commuting, but, hey, there's this HOV-Lane access" granted to plug-in vehicles with only a single occupant.

Tesla too pricey

Last year, Price visited her Mercedes-Benz dealer to inquire about plug-in vehicles--and found there were none available at the time.

She looked at a Tesla Model S as well, but while she liked the car, "it was just out of my price point" at a starting price of $69,900.

So Price leased a 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid sedan and obtained the "green sticker" giving her access to the carpool lanes on the San Diego Freeway (Interstate 405).

"I hadn't had a Honda since I was a teenager," she said, "but it was affordable and could hold my family--the Nissan Leaf and the Chevy Volt were a little too small."

ALSO SEE: 2014 Honda Accord Plug-In Hybrid: First Drive

She drove the Honda for eight months, but "kept looking for any other luxury cars that had a [plug-in] hybrid."

Luxury she wanted

Price happened to be in Germany the month before the electric B-Class was officially introduced in the U.S.

"I liked the looks, it was big inside," it had the luxury Price wanted--"so I called Mercedes-Benz of Laguna Niguel and put down a deposit."