Klaus Maier has already exceeded his target of making China one of the top five markets for Mercedes-Benz sales worldwide by 2010.

Maier had set his top-five goal three years ago when he became president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz China for the Germany luxury car group.

"China has been our group's fourth-largest market this year, as we see an incredible boom in automobile sales across the country despite the global financial crisis," Maier said.

"The still-promising future makes us confident that the country will be Mercedes' No 3 market in the world next year," he added.

In November, Mercedes-Benz reported a record-breaking year-on-year growth of 224 percent with nearly 8,500 units delivered to customers during the month in China.

For the first 11 months of 2009, Mercedes-Benz sold more than 59,200 cars for a year-on-year growth rate of 68 percent to solidify its position as the fastest-growing luxury brand in China.

"It should be attributed to the aggressive strategies we defined during the past three years to motivate every one of our staff to achieve growth," Maier said.

He expects full-year sales to total a record 65,000 cars, he said, which would mean a 65 percent year-on-year increase for Mercedes-Benz, which holds a 10 percent share of China's luxury car market.