similar yes.. but in your first post you claimed identicall..
i must say no

When you consider that we're looking at two rather ordinary solutions to instrument design I don't think there's a striking similarity between these two images.

Kudos to Audi, by the way, for nailing their dial designs. They've been spot-on for a while now.

Check again. I said almost identical.

Yes, you are right. It is an ordinary solution but the fact that they changed the design completely from the prefacelifted C and that the new interior designer was an ex-Audi guy seems to indicate that this wasn't just coincidence. Also Audi has made many variations from this same basic layout and MB has many very different types of gauges. Don't get me wrong, I don't have a problem with the similarity.

still i say no to almost identical
and yes to similar

When designers are brought from one company to another, they bring their design riffs along with them. Check out the E60 5er, for instance. If it reminds you of a Peugeot it's no coincidence, because the designer came from Peugeot.

I also wouldn't be surprised if the designer of the E90 was involved with Mazda design at some point, because of those rear lights. Just a hunch.