PARIS, Sept 23 - DaimlerChrysler's <DCXGn.DE> Mercedes Car Group expects to sell some 100,000 of its B-class premium minivans a year once production is fully ramped up, Mercedes chief Juergen Hubbert said on Thursday.
"Over time, not in the first year clearly, we expect to sell 100,000 of the B-class additionally to what we have (for the compact A-class car) per year," he told reporters at the Paris car show.
"Now we start to deliver A (class cars) and I think sometime next year we should come out with B. Then it depends a litle bit on how we can ramp up," he added.
Mercedes will sell the B-class in Europe and the United States. He said he was convinced customers would see the B car as a true Mercedes despite its small size, just as the A class has won wide acceptance.
The B-class also gives Mecedes a new approach to selling cars in the U.S. market, where A-class cars are not sold.
"Americans start to look for fuel-efficient products, and here we can offer something additional to our diesel programme, which is extremely successful," he said.
