Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India on Monday expanded its Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV) range in the country with the launch of the locally produced EQS 580 4MATIC.
India is the first country outside the US to start the local production of the seven-seater electric SUV.
EQS SUV 580 4MATIC is the second model, after the EQS sedan, to be locally produced at company's Pune-based manufacturing plant.
"This will be our sixth EV in India, and the second car to be locally produced in India. We are also proud that India becomes the first market out of the US to locally manufacture the EQS," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI in an interaction.
The move to manufacture the product locally outlines the company's commitment to electrification and increasing product portfolio offering choices to customers, he added.
"EQS SUV's localisation underpins our deep commitment to grow the Indian luxury electric car market and reinforce our commitment for a greener and sustainable future," Iyer said.
The move also supports the government's vision of Make-in-India, he said.
Iyer said local production has led to a significant advantage in terms of pricing the electric SUV.
The introductory price of EQS SUV 580 4MATIC starts at Rs 1.41 crore which should also make a lot of customers shift to EVs much faster in terms of transition, he said.
When asked about the demand for green vehicles, Iyer said the sales of EVs were growing in the country with even high-end products finding acceptance.
"The EQA sedan which was introduced in India around 18 months back, we have sold more than 500 cars. It's a car costing more than Rs 1.6 crore. Our total penetration of EVs is 5 per cent today, it's growing. For sure, customer acceptance is there," he stated.
Iyer noted that the company remains committed to offer top-end luxury EV products offering higher range in the market.
He noted that there may be more opportunities in the entry EV segment but the focus of the company firmly remains on bringing luxury products in the market.
"To bring products at lower price points, that is not our current strategy," Iyer said.
The company aims to offer products with higher driving range, a factor that leads to bigger battery and escalation in price, he added.
The EQS SUV 580 4MATIC is India's longest range electric SUV with ARAI certified range of 809 kms.
Iyer said the company remains committed to the Indian market and has announced an additional investment of Rs 200 crore earlier towards manufacturing operations, new product start-ups and digitisation of manufacturing processes.
The company till date has invested over Rs 3,000 crore in India, he added.
In the January-September period this year, Mercedes-Benz India has launched three new BEVs '? EQA, EQS SUV 580 and Mercedes-Maybach EQS 680 SUV.
With the EQS SUV 580 4MATIC, the company now offers the EQA, EQB, EQE SUV, EQS SUV, EQS sedan and Maybach EQS SUV 680 in the market.
