Mercedes-Benz India, the country’s largest premium car seller today took the wraps off their next-generation GLE Sports Utility Vehicle. Available in two variants, the assembled in India GLE 300d for Rs 73.7 lakh and the imported GLE 400d ‘Hip Hop’ Edition for Rs 1.25 crore, this is the first of ten launches by the German manufacturer this year which will attempt to hold onto its leadership position in the Indian market.
The GLE 300d has a new 1950cc engine that produces 245 horsepower and the 400d a 3-litre V6 engine with 330 horsepower with Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Martin Schwenk claiming that these next-generation diesel engines don’t just meet the new BS6 emission norms but are the cleanest diesel engines in India right now.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Schwenk said that while 2019 had been a difficult year for all manufacturers he was particularly pleased with the last quarter where customers who had deferred their purchases returned to the market. “We also had a run-out of several of our outgoing models such as the old GLE and the GLA, but we were very successful in moving all our stock of older BS4 cars and now offer our entire line-up in BS6. I believe that 2020 is going to be a solid year and we should start getting some growth back into the market, and our great service packages as well as a completely new line-up shiuld help us grow this year, we still have great confidence in the Indian economy.”
Mercedes-Benz has 96 outlets in 47 cities across India right now and Schwenk said that the company aims to cross the 100 outlet mark in 2020.
Unlike other brands, he added that their financial health of their dealer partners was in good shape and said that Mercedes had helped their dealers whenever needed with Daimler Financial Services, the company’s finance arm.