Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India, which posted 32 per cent sales growth in 2013, expects to see double-digit growth this year as well, a top official said on Wednesday.

The company sold 9,003 cars last year compared with 6,840 units in 2012.

“We grew 32 per cent year-on-year on sales last year, and this year, we expect to continue with the double-digit growth.

“We sold around 50,000 cars in India since our entry in 1995,” Eberhard Kern, Managing Director and CEO, told reporters here.

The company, which had launched eight models last year, said a similar number of products would be rolled out this year, too.

To spread its reach, 10 new dealer outlets will be opened by the end of the year.

As of now, the carmaker has 61 showrooms in the country.

Meanwhile, the company launched the latest version of its S-class luxury sedan, priced at Rs 1.57 crore (ex-showroom, Delhi).

Locally assembled Mercedes-Benz India has already received 125 bookings, for which delivery will be done in the next few weeks, Kern said.

The new S-class, which will also be assembled at the company’s plant at Chakan, Pune, will be delivered from April onward for the next lot of bookings, he added.

The new car is powered by 4.6-litre V8 engine with seven-speed automatic transmission.

Kern said Mercedes had sold 500,000 units of the S-class (previous version) globally.

In India, there are 3,500 S-class cars on the road.

> ronendrasingh.s@thehindu.co.in

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