German car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz recently inaugurated its new dealership in Rajkot, Gujarat. With this new dealership, the brand with three pointed star has become the first amongst the luxury car manufacturers to open a showroom in the Surashtra region. The latest addition to Mercedes-Benz's wide sales network has been located on an area of 21,000 square feet and features Rs. 7 crore investment. A the launch event, Eberhard Kern (Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer for Mercedes-Benz) was present along with Managing Director of Benchmark Cars, Sanjay Thakker.
Speaking at the launch of new showroom, Kern was heard as saying “Rajkot is a city on the move with immense potential to grow and it has an upwardly mobile customer base that is developing the market for luxury cars. The demand for Mercedes-Benz cars in Gujarat, Rajkot and surrounding markets in specific, has been encouraging. It was important for Mercedes-Benz to start operations in this market and present the fascination of the Three Pointed Star to our potential customers and enthusiasts in Rajkot.”
Commenting on the partnership of Mercedes-Benz India with Benchmark Cars he said that this new dealership is their fourth one with the company in Gujarat while for India the figure now stands at 6. Kern also added that Mercedes-Benz expects the partnership to grown even stronger and the top-class infrastructure and quality services rendered by Benchmark Cars Rajkot, it will be able tap in the potential of this emerging market.
Kern further added, “2013 has been a very good year for Mercedes-Benz India as we have aggressively launched new products, expanded to new markets and we are confident of maintaining our strong performance for the remaining year. We aim to do sustainable profitable business in India and are here in this market as part of our long-term strategy for India. It is emerging markets like Rajkot that strengthens our belief in the India growth story even more.”
The incorporated service centre at Benchmark Cars is equipped with state-of-art features and it also has the capacity to undertake minor repairs besides possessing spare parts and accessories. Spread across 12,000 sq. ft, the service centre has the ability to service around six vehicles a day from the provision of six bays.
It must be noted that Benchmark Cars has a long association with Mercedes-Benz since 2009 when the company opened its first dealership of the luxury car company. Since then, Benchmark cars has expanded its reach to different parts of the country by opening six showrooms. The company has also won many accolades and awards from Mercedes-Benz owing to its superior customer satisfaction service. As told by the loyal dealer of Mercedes-Benz, it has sold almost 2000 vehicles of the company till date and is keen to further increase this figure by several folds in future.
At the onset of the launch Sanjay Thakker, Chairman & Managing Director of Benchmark Cars Rajkot told that Benchmark Cars Rajkot has now become the largest car showroom in Saurashtra region, besides being the first one opened by any luxury car brand in this emerging market. With the inauguration of this new dealership, Benchmark cars has expanded its presence in almost all of the major parts of Gujarat. On asked about the future plans with Mercedes-Benz, Thakker said that the partnership with Mercedes-Benz has been very successful since the past few years and he expects it grow even better in future. He later told “This dealership will display the complete range of fascinating Mercedes-Benz cars, while our after-sales and service delivery will be equally fascinating. We will ensure that our valued customers feel the highest possible satisfaction and delight at Benchmark Cars.”
