FRANKFURT, July 17 (Reuters) - DaimlerChrysler's luxury brand Mercedes-Benz will shift all production of its C-Class Sports coupe to its Brazilian plant in Juiz de Fora where it already builds the saloon version, the company said on Monday. Assembly will begin in the first quarter of next year. The model will mainly be exported to its core European market, according to the company. German media had speculated in the past whether Daimler would have to close the plant after its A-Class car proved unsuccessful in the local market and plans were scrapped to build the Smart ForMore compact offroader there. Juiz de Fora ceased production of the A-Class compact last year and now only assembles C-Class saloons for export to the United States. Global sales of the C-Class Sports coupe sank 29 percent to 33,000 cars last year, representing only about 3 percent of total brand vehicle sales worldwide. Volkswagen also builds its Fox subcompact in Brazil but exports to Europe generate losses due mainly to the appreciation of the Real.