Bullish on Indian car market, German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz plans to add 15 new dealerships in 15 more cities in 2015. “last year we had double digit growth and we reported sales of 10,201 units, this year we expect the same growth rate on the back of 15 launches,” said Mercedes-Benz Managing Director & CEO Eberhard Kern while talking to The Pioneer.
Charting out company’s plan for 2015 in India Kern said: “Not only we plan to launch 15 products but also will add 15 new dealerships in 15 more cities in 2015. “ClA is the first product we have launched today out of the 15 products,” Kern added. German luxury carmaker on Thursday launched ClA Class sedan, priced in the range of Rs31.5-35.9 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), to further strengthen its position in the country.
The car will be available in both diesel and petrol options in three variants with prices ranging from Rs31.5 lakh to and Rs35.9 lakh (all prices ex-showroom Delhi). “We expect the ClA to be one of the volume drivers and that’s why we decided to produce the car in India,” added Kern
Talking in detail about sales of the company, he said that in 2013 and 2014 Mercedes-Benz sales grew by over 50 per cent and there are not many markets globally with that kind of growth. ClA will be produced locally and this would be the sixth model along with the S, E, C, Ml and Gl classes to be rolled out of the company’s Chakan plant.
The company also plans to pump in Rs150 crore for adding a new assembly line for its upcoming ClA sedan at the Chakan facility. With expansion, the plant will now have a capacity of 20,000 units per year, the largest for any luxury car manufacturer in the country. Mercedes-Benz currently has 68 dealerships across India in 37 cities. “We will be setting up a new dealership at Jamshedpur next week,” Kern informed.
When asked about his expectation from the upcoming Budget, Kern said: “Budget should address problems of infrastructure, better fuel quality, higher tax structure for luxury car makers and lastly taxes should be harmonised (early implementation of GST).
The company is fast catching up with its rival Audi, which sold 10, 851 units in 2014. While Audi plans to launch 10 new products in 2015, Mercedez- Benz plans to launch 15 products, experts say, would be an interesting competition to watch out for.
last year, the company had launched 10 new products in the country including new versions of its top-end luxury sedan S Class --the S500 and S350CDI, armoured vehicle MGuard, and SUVs Gl63AMG and Ml63AMG. It had also launched GlA Class and a petrol variant of GlA 45 AMG, to tap the fast growing SUV segment in the country.
When asked about his expectation from the upcoming Budget, Kern said: “Budget should address problems of infrastructure , better fuel quality, higher tax structure for luxury car makers and lastly taxes should be harmonised (early implementation of GST).