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DaimlerChrysler AG's Mercedes Car Group, the world's largest builder of luxury cars, expects its revised A-Class model to help the division match last year's sales in a ``difficult'' worldwide market, Juergen Hubbert, the division's chief, said.
The model will help Mercedes's fourth-quarter sales, Hubbert told journalists at the Paris International Motor Show.
DaimlerChrysler hasn't met Chief Executive Officer Juergen Schrempp's target of becoming global carmaker as the carmaker has depended on Mercedes earnings to make up for losses at the Chrysler unit and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. affiliate. Profit at Mercedes, which accounted for half of Stuttgart, Germany-based DaimlerChrysler's 2003 profit, has fallen or stagnated for the past four quarters.
August sales of Mercedes Car Group, which includes the Mercedes-Benz luxury and Smart microcar brands, fell 7.8 percent to 77,300 vehicles. The division is losing ground to Munich-based Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, which aims to lure customers away from Mercedes models such as the A-Class compact car with the new 1-Series. BMW's global vehicle sales rose 8 percent last month.
Mercedes is counting on new models such as the revised A- Class car, the CLS and the S-Class to revive sales. The company's model offensive may help it to catch up to BMW, which introduced 10 new models this year.
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