New Delhi: Skoda Auto India, the Indian subsidiary of the German carmaker Volkswagen, has launched the petrol version of its luxury sedan ''Superb.''

Superb is priced at Rs 23.45 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi) and is positioned against the Mercedes Benz in India.

Imran Hassen managing director Skoda Auto India told newspersons, that Superb is being brought into India as completely built units and will be available in a 2.8 litre, V6 petrol engine version. The company will roll out a diesel variant of the Superb by the end of this year. Skoda expects to sell 500 units of the Superb this year.

"We are planning to introduce more models in the near future and widening our product portfolio. Accordingly, we have embarked upon a programme to widen our reach and network," said Shashank Vaid, manager (marketing). The company intends to increase the number of dealers from 35 to 40 this year.

According to Vaid, Superb is a front wheel-drive luxury car equipped to handle Indian roads extremely well. Power to the front wheels is routed through a five-speed tiptronic auto transmission equipped with a transmission mode to aid a more personalised driving style.

Skoda India sold 4,656 units last year but expects to sell about 8,000 cars in 2004, an increase of almost 50 percent. The company says it lost sales last year because of five months of production losses when it shifted to completely knocked down (CKD) operations from semi knocked down (SKD). Earlier this year, Skoda started the production of cars at its new greenfield facility in Aurangabad where it employs about 300 workers. The new plant will have a production capacity of 15,000 cars per year. Earlier, Skoda India used to assemble the premium sedan ''Octavia'' at a makeshift facility in Aurangabad.

Skoda aims to break even next year by selling 10,000 cars. Earlier Skoda officials said the company had lined up a slew of models as it aimed to capture 20 per cent market share in its segments. Skoda Auto''s ''Laurin & Klement'' launched recently has been selling successfully and the company is targeting to sell 800 ''L&Ks'' by December this year.