New Delhi, Nov 13 (IANS): Mercedes-Benz India is on course to close the current year with a double-digit jump in sales, fuelled by the rising demand for luxury cars in a fast-growing economy, the company’s managing director Santosh Iyer has said.

Mercedes-Benz India has now launched its new 'AMG C 63 S E PERFORMANCE' model equipped with F1 hybrid technology priced at Rs 1.95 crore. This is the company's 14th product launch this year, aimed at driving up sales volumes of its high-end vehicles which are priced upwards of Rs 1.5 crore.

Speaking to reporters at the launch, Iyer said that the festive season brought the company’s best sales figures, reflecting the strength of the auto major’s performance in a fiercely competitive and fluctuating market.

In the July-to-September quarter, sales of Mercedes-Benz India accelerated by 21% over the same period of the previous year amid an overall slowing auto market. He highlighted that the company has been experiencing substantial growth despite the challenges facing the automotive industry.

Iyer said the company plans to complete conversion of all of its existing 100 outlets under the direct-to-consumer model over the next year or so. He claimed that the new marketing strategy has helped to cut the country’s inventory costs.

The increase in luxury car sales also underscores the rising incomes of the upper middle class with the Indian economy emerging as the fastest growing economy in the world. This also reflected in the higher number of income tax payers in the above Rs 1 crore earnings segment.

Figures compiled by the Income Tax department show that more than 9.54 lakh people with income of Rs 1 crore and above filed their returns until October 31 this year. The number has jumped more than 3-fold from 2.89 lakh tax payers in the country in the Rs 1 crore and above bracket five years ago.