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Daimler to become 2016's biggest luxury car maker - CEO

Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler and Head of Mercedes-Benz, poses in front of a Mercedes EQ Electric car at the Paris auto show in Paris, France, September 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen/File Photo

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German carmaker Daimler is to become this year's biggest and most profitable luxury car maker, its chief executive said on Thursday. "We will achieve it this year, four years ahead of time," Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said at an economic conference in Frankfurt, referring to the company's 2020 target of becoming the world's biggest premium carmaker. The company had announced the goal in 2011 and Zetsche said back then everyone was laughing at the announcement. Daimler's passenger car unit Mercedes Benz was on track for full-year sales of more than two million cars, Zetsche said, putting it ahead of rivals Audi and BMW . (Reporting by Tina Bellon; Editing by Alexandra Hudson)