German luxury car maker Mercedes- Benz is likely to register lower sales this year

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compared to 2008.

The company,however, is going ahead with the launch of the advanced version of its E-Class Sedan by the end of this year and hopes to register impressive growth from next year onwards.

"Last year we sold 3,625 units in the Indian market but this year we will be lagging a little behind. But we are launching the advanced E-Class before the end of the year and we hope this, along with our C-Class models, will help us to register good growth from 2010," Mercedes-Benz Indian Managing Director and CEO Wilfried Aulbur told reporters on the sidelines of the SIAM annual convention here.

He said the new advanced E-Class will be locally manufactured in India. The company had last week launched a special edition of its C-Class Sedan in India.