The underdog of its pack just got a little meaner. Will it be enough to overtake the others to become the king of its race?The new Mercedes Benz E-Class has attracted constant attention from us since the pre-launch stages. We're referring to the international launch that happened earlier in the year.Briefing the media on Mercedes Benz' health in India, Dr.Wilfried Albur Managing Director and CEO MBIL said his company would gain momentum with this new E-Class and recapture the lost ground from Audi and BMW. At present, MB holds 36% of this market's share.He added the C-Class and S-Class were numero uno in their respective segments and the facelifted models of those cars will be launched after their international debuts which will make it a 'strong' 2010.On the sales slump of the M-Class, Dr.Albur said the he was seeing the global trend of customers moving from SUVs to smaller cars, which India is also a part of. Such an economic state had left the M-Class in this position, he said.Debashis Mitra, Director Sales and Marketing told me the company deliberately chose to offer the top-end E350 Avantgarde model (46.98 lakh ex-showroom Delhi) with a 3.5-liter V6 engine as the debut car in the new E lineup. He said the others worked the other way around and with a smile he said "Our customers deserve the best."Mr.Mitra also said Mercedes Benz considered the possibility of the A-Class in India but their study showed no positive signs and the volumes won't justify. He said the demand is not quite enough for both the A and B-Class to arrive in India yet.When quizzed about the SLS AMG's prospects here in India considering the rising level of demand, Dr Albur asked me when I would want to buy it.:DHe went on to say the SLS showed at Frankfurt represents what a modern Mercedes as a company is. He did not speculate on launch dates but did not rule out the possibility.Mercedes Benz will launch diesels and cheaper variants with smaller engines shortly. The time frame was not divulged but our sources ...