India’s largest luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz is hopeful that the company will retain the same volume as last year despite diesel ban in Delhi and NCR region. “Diesel ban has affected sales but we hope to achieve the same volume as last year. We have sold 6,597 units in the first half of this calendar year. last calendar year, we sold a total of 13,502 units,” Mercedes Benz India Managing Director and CEO Roland Folger told The Pioneer at the sideline of an event here.
In a move to aggressively cater to the Indian market in luxury segment, Mercedes Benz, on Thursday, also rolled out locally-produced GlC SUV from its Chakan plant. The new model comes in both diesel and petrol variants and is little over Rs 5 lakh cheaper than the imported version. Accordingly, the 2.1-litre GlC 220d entry model diesel version comes at Rs 47.9 lakh, while the 1.99-litre top-end GlC 300 petrol version is priced at Rs 51.9 lakh, in Delhi. launching the GlC, Folger said that the local production of the model has been completed in four months due to the tremendous response to the CBU version.
“And doing so in four months is a record for Mercedes India. We are enthused by the customer response to this dynamic SUV GlC, which has altogether redefined the segment and given the customers a refreshing choice,” he said, adding that the GlC is the ninth product from Mercedes Benz to be locally produced after Mercedes-Maybach S500, S-Class, E-Class, C-Class, GlS, GlE, GlC, GlA and ClA.
Talking about the customer’s benefit, Folger said, “Generally, whenever a product exceeds 500-unit demand mark on a sustainable basis we plan investment for making the product locally. When a product is produced locally our cost also comes down and customer is the winner as we pass on the benefits to them. Even in the case of this product, there is also a significant price reduction.” By rolling out the GlC SUV from its assembly line, Mercedes Benz India has also become the only luxury car manufacturer boasting of the largest locally-manufactured product portfolio in India.
The locally-produced GlC is launched in three variants GlC 220 d 4MATIC Style, GlC 220 d 4MATIC Sport and GlC 300 4MATIC Sport. Pertaining to the increasing demand of the GlC, Mercedes-Benz started the local production within just four months of its India debut in June, 2016. With the introduction of the ‘Made in India’ GlC, Mercedes-Benz bolstered its local production portfolio significantly with nine products rolling-out from its world-class facility in Chakan, Pune. “The GlC has already become one of Mercedes-Benz’s highest selling products, and we are very confident that it will replicate the global success in India as well. With the localisation and availability in petrol and diesel, we are confident that the GlC will become an attractive proposition for our discerning buyers with enhanced value propositions and increased availability,” said Mercedes Benz India chief.
However, Piyush Arora, Executive Director, Operations of Mercedes-Benz India said, “We are extremely satisfied with our localisation strategy, which is pivotal to our long-term success in this dynamic market. The rolling-out of the ‘Made in India’ GlC underscores our positive outlook for the Indian market, as we look forward to introducing more locally produced vehicles depending on future market growth.
