Mercedes-Benz will be assembling the S-Class luxury vehicle at its Pune production facility from April 2014. According to a report in ET, the German car maker is also planning to roll out new models in the Indian market this year. The auto company has already declared that it is going to try and regain top slot in the luxury car segment in 2014 by introducing new products and customer friendly initiatives.
As per statistics and reports, the Daimler-owned division, in 2013, sold 9003 units, which can be considered pretty good, keeping in mind the market conditions. The company recorded a growth of 32 per cent as compared to 2012. Currently, it holds the second position in the luxury car segment after fellow German car maker Audi. Notably, the company did manage to bag the top slot in second half of 2013. So, it would like to keep things going in its favour to get past the market leader.
On Wednesday (January 8th, 2014) Mercedes-Benz India went ahead to launch its latest version of S-Class luxury sedan at a retail price of Rs. 1.57 crore (ex-showroom Delhi). This premium sedan is currently being brought into the country as a Completely Built Unit (CBU). Also, the auto company locally assembles 70 per cent of its cars. On this, Mercedes-Benz India Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Eberhard Kern, said, “We have made huge investment in India for a local assembly and production plant. With a body and paint shop, we are able to churn out a substantial production from our Pune plant. The annual capacity has also been doubled to 20,000 units to meet our sales targets of the future.”
In 2013, Mercedes-Benz India had introduced eight new products in the country. This year, it is planning to increase its local assembling capacity in order to emerge as a leader by cutting down cost. This move will also help the company to fill the SUV (Sports Utility Vehicle) deficit in its portfolio. The company assembles four cars in India, namely C-Class, E-Class, ML-Class and GL-Class. It aims to bring in GLA-Class SUV and CLA-Class models in the country to expand its product range. Both these vehicles are getting good response in the global market and thus, the company can hope of a good response in India as well. The luxury car maker may introduce these models in the last quarter of 2014.
Expressing his views on this development, Kern said, “We are contemplating to get some new product in 2014 and backed by a strong production infrastructure in place some pleasant product surprises should be expected soon. We managed to outsell our competitors on most of the segment we operate, and that to despite not having a full range of SUVs in our portfolio.”
The premium car maker, so far, has sold 125 units of S-Class launch edition and deliveries of locally assembled models are likely to start from April 2014. The new S-Class gets a 4.6 litre V8 engine under its hood. This vehicle can attain a top speed of around 250 kmph. It comes equipped with eight airbags and airmatic suspension for safety and smooth ride quality, respectively. The new S-Class also boasts of a standard 360-degree surround view camera with 'Night View Assist'. The auto company has introduced 'Chauffeur Training' for buyers so that they can familiarise themselves with top-of-the-line specifications of this car.
