In an interview with the Financial Times, Zetsche indicated that the German car and truck maker, which is perceived to have lost ground to premium rivals such as BMW, will push to “focus more on the top line.”

In recent years Mercedes has cut model development cycles and production costs.

It applied its famous three pointed star badge to a raft of small and medium sized product but has been criticised for a fall off in quality.

With the incoming models like the latest BMW 3-Series rivalling C-Class range, the German marque is hoping to have a renewed presence in its more traditional markets and drive up profitability.