German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is hoping to grab more market share in China's medium-sized premium sedan segment with its all-new E-Class model and the sedan was a crucial step in its overall strategy to get ahead in what is currently the world's biggest automobile market, a senior company official said yesterday.

"The all-new E-Class is the most important launch for Mercedes-Benz this year, and probably, in the next two years," said Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd, which plans to produce the premium sedan locally from next year.

The company launched the business sedan yesterday in Shanghai, China's financial hub. The model will compete with the locally produced Audi A6L and BMW 5-series in China's premium sedan market.

Mercedes' joint venture Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Co Ltd (BBDC) will start manufacturing the sedan from next year. The production of previous versions of the E-Class was stopped from February this year.

According to Gunter Butschek, president and CEO of BBDC, the local production process of the new E-Class sedan was kicked off in July 2007. Some of the imported equipment for the production line would undergo testing in the next few weeks, he said.

"We also had made full preparation for sourcing domestic parts to meet Mercedes' global standards as well as the Chinese government's requirement for localization," said Ulrich Walker, chairman and CEO of Daimler Northeast Asia.

The Audi A6L and BMW 5-series have had a head start in local production, but Walker said he believed the Mercedes' E-Class was "never too late" to be locally produced. "We trust we can run faster."

The E-Class sedan, which hit the European market in April, has grabbed over 60 percent of the medium-sized premium market in Germany, said Walker.

"From its first appearance at the Shanghai auto show, the E-Class has amassed over 6,000 pre-orders across the country, further building our confidence in China's luxury auto market," said Maier.