- Mercedes Benz plans to launch 12 cars in India this year, the first of which took place on January 8 with the introduction of GLS facelift SUV.
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz finished 2023 as its record year in India clocking 10 per cent growth with 17,408 vehicles sold across the country. Now, with 12 launches lined up for this year, Mercedes is bullish on increasing its sales by almost double by the end of 2024. Speaking exclusively to HT Auto on the sidelines of the GLS 2024 facelift SUV launch, Lance Bennett, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Mercedes-Benz India, said the carmaker is confident of 2024 to be an even better year for the German auto giant.
In 2023, Mercedes-Benz sold more SUVs than sedans in India. According to the sales report shared by the carmaker, 55 of its overall sales came from the segment with the new GLC being one of the biggest launches last year. The GLS facelift was the first launch of the year. Mercedes will roll out more SUVs, a segment it currently leads in the luxury category. Some of the upcoming launches may include cars like the new E Class, updated GLA and GLB SUVs among others.
Mercedes-Benz has confirmed that it will launch 12 new cars in India this year. Three out of these cars will be electric vehicles. Bennett said Mercedes will be focussing more on launching high-end vehicles for the Indian markets since they contributed nearly one-fourth of its overall sales last year. “50 per cent of our launches this year will be top-end vehicles. Not all of them will be high volume vehicles but there will be aspirational in nature. There will be more AMG cars added to the lineup as well,” said Bennett. The top-end vehicle segment includes vehicles which are priced above ₹1.5 crore. When asked why the carmaker is focussing more on high-end models, he said Mercedes aims to grow in the niche segment given its expertise.
Electric vehicles will also be form a big part of Mercedes-Benz’s plan for India to increase sales. Since the launch of EQC, the carmaker’s first electric car in India, EV sales for Mercedes has tripled contributing four per cent of its overall sales last year. “There is genuine interest about electric vehicles among our customers,” said Bennett, as he highlighted there are customers who are keen to upgrade to the EV segment too. One of the biggest launches expected from Mercedes in this segment is the Maybach EQS which is likely to be priced around ₹4 crore.
Mercedes-Benz aims its electric vehicles to contribute between 20 to 25 per cent of its overall sales by 2028. It currently offers electric cars like EQB, EQE as well as the EQS.
First Published Date: 09 Jan 2024, 12:23 PM IST
