New Delhi: Luxury automobile manufacturer Mercedes-Benz India on Thursday reported that it has bagged a contract to provide the union government with 55 top of the class E 250 CDI luxury sedans on – lease. These will be first used during the India Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) here October 26-29.

The IAFS summit will bring together all of Africa’s 54 countries , most of them represented by their heads of state or government.

Officially, the luxury sedans will be deployed in the fleet of the ministry of external affairs. After the IAFS summit, the sedans will be used to ferry other visiting foreign dignitaries and top diplomats.

The sedan,, which has been produced near Pune since 1995, remains by far the largest selling luxury car model in the country till date, with more than 30,000 units sold in India.

“Mercedes-Benz has always been the preferred luxury brand for ‘Head of States’ across the globe including India, and we are extremely proud of this fact. The impeccable sense of prestige, luxury, safety and comfort offered by a Mercedes-Benz is rarely matched and makes us the obvious choice for such exclusive clientele,” said Roland Folger, managing director and chief executive, Mercedes-Benz India.

“The mandate from the Ministry of External Affairs opting for the E-Class luxury sedan is a reiteration of the inherent strength of our product and of the unsurpassable brand equity that Mercedes-Benz commands in the Indian luxury car market.”

The E 250 CDI is priced at Rs.50.70 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). However, the company did not reveal its bid price for the deal with the external affairs ministry.

The luxury sedan is powered a 4-cylinder diesel engine with a displacement of 2,143 cc and maximum torque of 500 Nm ranging between 1,600 – 1,800 rpm. The car can accelerate from 0 to 100 in a mere 7.5 seconds and reaches a top speed of 242 kms per hour.