Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has decided to invest about Rs 150 crore in its manufacturing plant at Pune, while a similar amount will be spent along with its dealers for upgrading and increasing its retail network in the country.

It should be noted that the company has already spent about Rs 250 crore on the manufacturing plant where its passenger cars, trucks and bus are assembled.

Currently, Mercedes-Benz assembles C and E-Class range, which now account for indigenization level of up to 40-50 per cent. However, the S-Class range, which is also assembled in India, has 25 per cent local content.

Further, Mercedes-Benz also plans to hire 80 more engineers in its R&D centre in Bangalore, where its current strength is 220.

In another development, the company has revealed its plan to launch the latest version of the 'E' Class Mercedes Benz cars in the country.

The German luxury carmaker expects to post flat sales during 2009, compared with the previous year when it sold 3,625 car units, which was 50 per cent higher than in 2007.