Hans Micheal Huber CEO and MD Daimler Chrysler, addressing the media said, "Mercedes Benz had performed well in the state and the company was hopeful of increasing sales by 25 percent this fiscal." Last fiscal the company sold 100 units of the car in the state. As to the composition of sales he said, "Forty five percent of our sales were E-Class and C-class saloons and five percent were of the top of the line S class."

Announcing the successful run of the bio diesel powered Mercedes he said the run had so far been very successful and the car had run for 3000 kms without showing any complications. He said the car had given a mileage 15 km to a litre, which was slightly less than with normal diesel. He said the engine needed some minor modifications because bio-diesel is more corrosive. He said particulate emissions from the bio powered car were down by 33 percent.

The environment friendly Mercedes is now on its way to Pune from where it begins its second leg of the test run to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur before it finally reaches Delhi.

Daimler Chrysler has in association with the council of Scientific and Industrial Research and University of Hohenheim been working on the bio diesel project.

He felt that bio diesel could contribute to about 10 percent of the country''s diesel needs. The plantations can yield about 12 tonnes per hectares out of which more than half, about 60 percent, can be converted to bio diesel.

Daimler Chrysler India has produced 1,000 litres of bio-diesel through a Rs 3.3-crore socio-economic project with the Bhavnagar-based Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). Technical inputs have come from the University of Hohenheim in Germany.

In about two years, the company will help, through the CSIR, to set up Jatropha plantations in Gujarat and Orissa on wasteland areas. Each plantation could be around 1,000 hectares. The fuel, procured from Jatropha plant''s fruit''s oil, is unblended and 100 per cent bio-fuel. The interesting thing about Jatropha is that it can be grown on eroded soil.

Daimler Chrysler sources said the company has secured 20 hectares of land in Orissa and another 10 hectares of land in Gujarat to test and implement the bio-diesel project in conjunction with CSIR.

Daimler Chrysler is also running a bio-fuel programme in Brazil. According to the company programmes like this contribute not only to a green environment but also create employment.