Pune: German car-maker Mercedes Benz on Thursday rolled out the locally made diesel variant of its luxury sedan S Class 350 priced at Rs 1.07 crore (ex-showroom Maharashtra).

This is for the first time that Merc is introducing the diesel variant of its popular S Class models. Besides, the company also commenced generation from its 100-kw rooftop solar plant at the Chakan facility, which will produce 1.50 lakh units of power annually.

"We are delighted to manufacture the new S Class 350 at the Chakan plant and offer the much-awaited diesel option," Mercedes Benz India managing director and chief executive Eberhard Kern said.

He said Mercedes had for the first time introduced body manufacturing for the S Class locally.

Kern said the company had received environmental clearances for its plans to double production capacity to 20,000 units annually at the Chakan plant by this year.

The S Class diesel is the fifth product launched by the German luxury car maker, which occupies the No. 2 slot in market share in the domestic market, this year.

"At the beginning of the year we had announced to launch 10 new products this calendar year. With the S Class diesel, we have already rolled out five new products so far," Kern said.

Talking about the installation of its solar power plant, Kern said it reiterates Mercedes' commitment to achieve excellence in manufacturing by introducing environment- friendly initiatives. ----- PTI