Pune, Nov 27: Premier German carmaker Mercedes-Benz plans a fresh start in India with the launch of three new models next year, hoping to entice buyers who turned up their noses at its earlier offering.

"We decided with the theme the new Mercedes, the new beginning," managing director and chief executive officer Till Becker de Freitas said.

Mercedes plans to launch the E-250 diesel model in the capital on January 15, followed by the E-230 gasoline and the E-200 models in short order, de Freitas said.

"This is the one with the eyes," he added, referring to the circular headlights in the new models, which distinguish them from Mercedes' earlier cars equipped with rectangular lights.

With its Indian sales shooting up 73 per cent during the six months to September despite a crippling industrial slowdown, Mercedes is finding its feet after two years of rocky operations, during which it reshaped its marketing strategy extensively.

Mercedes-Benz India Ltd is a joint venture of Daimler-Benz and Tata Engineering and Locomotive Company Ltd (Telco) that assembles Mercedes E-class luxury cars.

Daimler has a 76-per cent stake in the Rs 3.5-billion firm, which has turned out the E-220 model at its plant near Pune since October 1995.

Analysts say sales have been affected by perceptions of the wealthy in the country that the E-220, which Mercedes calls the best-selling car in its history, is outdated. "I would not say that it was wrong to produce it here," de Freitas said. Mercedes' decision was based on the fact that it had no established dealers in the country, he added.

"We could not straight away come with the most complicated thing, which is now easy to do because we have our dealer network," he added.

De Freitas said a network of nine dealers would be in place all over the country by the end of December, and its strength would double during 1998. "That I think will be sufficient," he said.

Mercedes' export performance over the last six months had been extremely good, de Freitas added. During the six months to September, Mercedes-Benz exported 1,866 units to South Africa, Asia and the Middle East, figures by the Association of Indian Automobile Manufacturers show. "As Mercedes-Benz, we are the first car manufacturer who seriously exports," de Freitas said. "And most probably the highest quality product now comes with a stamp `Made in India'.

This is an enormous step. And our quality is at least German standard."Two-thirds of the domestic subsidiary's turnover comes from exports at present, de Freitas said. "But this will change of course. We are here for the domestic market very clearly. I am here to serve the domestic market. Exports are only a medium-term strategy."

Asked to forecast Mercedes- Benz India Ltd's sales by the turn of the century, de Freitas said, "I can tell you that I will sell in the year 2001, 6,000 units. Modest. I stay on the low-profile base, the safe base."