Mercedes-Benz India today unveiled the new battery-electric GLC 400 4MATIC. The vehicle will be priced at `78.5 lakh (ex-showroom) and will be assembled at Chakan.
While the vehicle shares a sub-brand with the petrol and diesel GLC, it is based on a completely different architecture, and I had the privilege of driving it around Stuttgart a month ago. Along with the electric CLA sedan launched earlier this year, it represents a new electric-vehicle design philosophy for the German carmaker, built around the new MB.EA architecture.
At a function at the Mercedes-Benz manufacturing facility at Chakan, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Mercedes-Benz global
Chief Executive Ola
Källenius jointly took the covers off the vehicle, which will be assembled at the plant outside Pune.
Speaking at the launch, Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, said, “In 2015, I inaugurated the expansion of this plant. Maharashtra represents India’s manufacturing future.
When I inaugurated this plant, Mercedes-Benz had sold only 50,000 cars over the previous two decades; since then, almost 2 lakh cars have rolled off the line. Something fundamental has changed since Shri Narendra Modi came to power, and Maharashtra is at the centre of that. I want Maharashtra to be at the centre of global future mobility, across the value chain.”
He invited Mercedes-Benz global management to invest further in Maharashtra not just to serve the Indian market but also for the world, “Innovate in Maharashtra and Serve the World.”
Martin Brudermuller, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Mercedes-Benz AG, spoke of the important relationship between India and Germany. “The new India-EU Free Trade Agreement is not just about trade but also a political statement. The strongest partnerships are ones where both sides shape the future. India is much more than a market for Europe and Mercedes-
Benz. India is also a great source of some of the best talent in the world.”
Ola Kallenius, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz AG, said India’s talent was evident thanks to the work of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), Mercedes-Benz’s largest R&D centre outside Germany.
“Worldwide, the GLC is our best-selling model, and we have sold over 22,000 in India so far, and I hope the electric will add to the sales momentum. We will bring launches into India, and we will strengthen manufacturing in India while designing products for Indian customers.”
From ‘Why’ to ‘Which’
Speaking to The Pioneer ahead of the launch, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Santosh Iyer said demand for electric vehicles has changed substantially.
“Six years ago we launched the first-ever battery electric, the EQC, and from that time to today the question has changed from ‘Why an Electric’ to ‘Which Electric?’ EVs have gained widespread acceptance in the Indian luxury car market.”
Iyer added that the carmaker had learned from its earlier strategy of keeping electric vehicles separate. “The earlier difference between the EQ brand and the internal combustion engine did not help our customers understand the products as we would have liked them to have. The EQS, for example, was positioned between the E-Class and S-Class. While all new electrics will be on our dedicated EV platform MB.EA, our vehicles will share brands.”
That is why the electric SUV is simply a GLC rather than a new EQ name. It also arrives amid a major product offensive: Mercedes-Benz plans 40 new products over the next 18-odd months, and several are scheduled to come to India.
Demand ahead of supply
Iyer claimed that demand clearly outstrips supply in the electric vehicle market. “For both the new CLA and this new GLC, we are sold out for the next few months. We have over a thousand bookings for the GLC even before we announced the price. It isn’t just India where demand for these vehicles is strong; it is also very strong in Europe.”
According to Mercedes-Benz, the GLC is the fastest of its global models to reach India as a locally assembled vehicle, arriving six months after sales began in Europe.
Iyer acknowledged that major challenges remain. “It is improving, but it could be better still. One challenge for electric vehicle owners is needing multiple charging apps and having to prepay. With our MB. Charge app, we ensure our owners have a single application to find and reserve chargers, and pay only after charging at many charging stations.
All our dealers have established fast chargers of 150 kilowatts or higher, some even rated at 240 kilowatts, and we are working with charging operators and power utilities to improve this further.”