Iconic German car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, seems to be riding high on its new model launches as the company witnessed high sales during the July-September quarter. According to the figures released by the brand with three pointed star, it posted a 58 per cent sales growth for the July-September 2013 time frame, under the review of last year's same period. The sales figures for the recently concluded quarter stood at 2696 units. For the month of September 2013, the company sold 1011 units as opposed to the 654 in the year-ago period.
Speaking on this development, Mercedes-Benz India's Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Eberhard Kern, was quoted as saying, "We have been increasing our sales ever since we brought new products like the A Class, B Class diesel and GL Class this year. In the first quarter when we didn't have these product, we grew only 5 per cent, while in the third we are at 58 per cent."
The company also told that it is expecting higher sales for vehicles in the just started festive season, wherein the demand for new cars generally increases. With its new models, which include GL-Class, Mercedes-Benz seems to be banking on the festivity period in order to register high year end figures. While stressing on the robust demand in the festive season, he further said, "We are confident of increasing sales and achieve our target of registering a healthy double digit growth this year. The festive season should be good for us." Kern added that due to the supply backlog, models like ML-Class, GL-Class along with A-Class and B-Class have gone on waiting period.
It must be noted that in the January-September time frame, Mercedes-Benz posted a 31 per cent growth figure with 6461 units in contrast to the 4938 cars it sold in same period of 2012. However, the three-badged star is still behind its fellow German counterpart, Audi, which saw a 15 per cent sales increase for the period of January to September at 7391 units in comparison to the 6417 units sold during 2012. On being asked whether or not Mercedes-Benz would be able to takeover Audi in India, Kern said, "Our focus is on sustainable profitable growth. We will continue to focus on our efforts and let's see the numbers at the end of the year."
In the luxury car segment, the competition is fast growing for Mercedes-Benz as its German counterpart, BMW, is bringing-in new models in the country. With the recently launched 1 Series model, BMW has expanded its presence in the premium hatchback segment where Mercedes-Benz gained a first mover advantage, owing to the launch of A-Class. At present, the portfolio of Mercedes-Benz cars in India comprises models like G63 AMG, GL-Class SUV, A-Class, B-Class, E-Class, E63 AMG and S-Class.
