Mercedes-Benz‘s plans to regain its historical position as the world’s most popular premium automaker could be paying off, research from Germany has suggested.

The famous tri-star brand was the world’s best-loved luxury automaker until 2005, when it lost the title to rival BMW, which has held it since.

In 2011, it suffered another blow when it slipped behind Audi into third place, selling 1.26 million vehicles compared to 1.3 million for Audi and 1.38 million for BMW.

The nine luxury cars that were reportedly up for sale in Dubai have been seized as part of evidence from various crimes and will not be sold.

“The one Ferrari Enzo and the other regular Ferraris are required by Interpol. So, the nine cars are not for sale,” Captain Khalid Al Kamali was quoted as saying.

This comes as a disappointment to the many Brits, Americans, Indians and Russians who reportedly asked to buy the rare Enzo Ferrari.

Wealthy Iranians are fuelling an unprecedented luxury car boom despite sanctions hurting their economy, paying up to $360,000 for high-end autos.

“Buyers are paying upfront for these cars, which generally cost two to three times more than abroad,” one car salesman in Tehran told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Jaguar has launched a new ultra-luxurious version of its XJ flagship sedan at the 2012 Beijing Auto Show.

For the Ultimate edition, the XJ’s rear seats have been ditched in favour of two tailor-made, powered seats split by a champagne chiller, while a solid aluminium table with piano black trim folds out electronically.

Lamborghini has unveiled a new concept which appears to confirm it intends to follow rival Maserati into the SUV market.

The luxury sports car manufacturer revealed its Urus SUV concept for the first time at Auto China in Beijing this week, promising that its long history of supercars could make the beefy model the ‘ultimate super athlete’ in its segment.

Daimler previously let slip that the company will kill the ultra-luxury brand in 2013 and replace it with a new high-end Mercedes-Benz S600 Pullman.

To sell out remaining inventory, the ultra-luxury automaker is offering rebates of up to $100,000 on the purchase of a new Maybach from dealer inventory.