Huppenbauer takes over at a time of political turmoil in Thailand when luxury car sales have taken a beating. Sales in the first quarer of this year fell below those in last year's first quarter.

"Our target this year is to ensure that we hold the 54 per cent of the [luxury] market that we claimed last year," Huppenbauer said. "I have seen the first quarter report and have been discussing with my team whether we should lower this year's sales target. But we will need more time to come to such a conclusion."

Daimler Chrysler has kept up with the government's programme on alternative-fuel vehicles. It has already sold several Mercedes-Benz E200 NGT models, a member of the carmaker's E-class vehicles which can run on either compressed natural gas or petrol.

The price of the E200 NGT is Bt 4.4 million, but the price will fall when production of the cars starts in Thailand later this year. Company officials said the car was likely to cost less than Bt4 million. Thailand is the first country outside of Germany to produce the E200 NGT. Along with this, there are also plans to start production here of the Mercedes-Benz S320 Cdi, S300 and the A-class diesel.

"Sales of the S-class have been slow since its launch in October. We have sold only 50 units. This is mainly because the vehicle is completely built up. When completely-knocked-down production starts at the end of this year, sales are likely to pick up," Huppenbauer said.

He also said the company would consider bringing the Chrysler brand back to Thailand.

Vijo Varghese

The Nation