As Mercedes-Benz India launches their new V-Class people carrier, newly appointed managing director Martin Schwenk joins The Pioneer’s Kushan Mitra for an exclusive interaction

What are Mercedes-Benz’ plans for India in 2019?

Well, we start today and it is a very strong start to 2019 with a new car in a new segment altogether. I cannot disclose what all wed will launch in 2019, but for one we will bring the model changeover on the GLE which will be significant for us and there will also be a lot of exciting new AMG models that will be launched. As well as products like the V-Class, we will be working on everything.

But what is really important this year?

Definitely making sure that all our model range is able to comply with Bharat Stage 6 emission norms which will be mandatory next year. The new V-Class is also BS-6 compatible from the get go and we currently have five models that are BS-6 and we will try and ensure that all our products will be BS-6 by the end of the year.

You said a lot of AMG cars will be launched, any updates on which ones?

(Laughs) Well, a lot of them, be sure of that but they will be a mix of AMG 43 and AMG 63 variants.

While Mercedes-Benz is working on BS-6 what are you doing on electrification and hybrids?

Being a global brand, we already have products that are full battery-electric and hybrids in our global portfolio, in several other countries the move towards these vehicles has started to happen quite quickly. Unfortunately in India we do not have a clear roadmap towards what the Government wishes to achieve. But hybrids will be an interesting proposition, particularly plug-in hybrids. Of course, infrastructure is a challenge, but I believe many Mercedes owners have parking and access to charging facilities. Thankfully, as I said earlier we do not need to reinvent the wheel in India.

Are you seeing any demand for vehicles from Indian customers?

To be honest, no. You have to remember across the world, nobody really wants to change their habit of buying a regular petrol or diesel, but a combination of regulations, particularly around pollution and emissions as well as incentives and penalties is what have driven change. Of course, there is a class of buyers who look at electric vehicles as a stats symbol but those are limited.

About the V-Class what is the sort of buyer you foresee for this vehicle?

I believe it will be a mix of private and commercial buyers. I mean, this is not just a perfect vehicle for a large family to go on a holiday with just one car, with our aggressive starting price of Rs 68.4 lakhs we believe that there will also be corporate buyers. This is a car where you can actually have a business meeting when you are stuck in traffic in Mumbai or Bangalore, the seats face other and there are tables. There is also the luxury travel market, where there also will be demand. The Indian market has never seen such a product before, so I believe there might even be a lot of pent-up demand from consumers who have wanted to upgrade to a luxury product.