Mercedes Benz says 2013 will be its best year in India

                                                                           


 Mercedes Benz India Pvt. Ltd said the current year will be its best ever, following robust sales of its luxury brands, a trend that contrasts the poor showing of the mass car market that has seen sales crimp on the back of a slowing economy and higher borrowing costs.
Mercedes sold 7,138 cars in India in 2012, and envisages crossing the 10,000 mark by the end of fiscal year 2014. The company sold 1.3 million units in the 11 months to November, 11% more over a year ago. Of these, BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) accounted for 280,000 units, said Matthias Luehrs, chairman of the board of management, Mercedes India and vice-president, global sales, at Mercedes-Benz.
“It will clearly end up as the best year Mercedes ever achieved in India,” Eberhard Kern, managing director and chief executive of the local arm of the German firm, told reporters in Pune on Wednesday. “In 2014, we aim to expand in double-digits faster than the market,” said Luehrs, who was also in Pune to inaugurate the company’s so-called “Centre of Excellence”.
Dedicated to wealthy customers, which include politicians, film stars and corporate heads, the centre features a dedicated helipad that will be used exclusively by such customers who want to fly in and out, providing them highest level of convenience and ease in purchasing their desired specialty car, said Luehrs.
This is one among the few such centres Mercedes has globally.
Mercedes, which launched eight new models in 2013, has seen sales of its super luxury brands such as the SLS AMG, SLK 55 AMG and E 63 AMG, pick up. The average ticket price of these models is upwards of Rs.1.5 crore.
The firm also got a volume push with the launch of the A Class, its compact luxury model.
In a bid to shake off the old-man image associated with the brand, Mercedes globally sharpened focus on design to woo buyers away from German rivals BMW AG and Audi AG. Emerging markets, too, will play a crucial role in the renewed thrust, accounting for half of global sales, according to company executives.
Elaborating on the model launch plans for the calendar 2014, Luehrs said Mercedes plans to introduce the new S Class in the first quarter. It will also be bring in either the CLA (four-door coupe) or GLA (compact luxury cross over) to India, next year.
“Mercedes in India has bounced back,” said Puneet Gupta, principal analyst at I.H.S, the sales forecasting and market research firm.
According to Gupta, the maker of the car that sports a three-pointed star logo always had the first mover advantage in the country. It had, however, lost traction in the absence of models that can compete with rivals such as Audi and BMW. “They have been very aggressive in 2013 with models like the A-Class that has helped them take competition head on.”
Gupta expects the luxury car market in India, which includes sales from Jaguar Land Rover India, Audi India, BMW India and Mercedes India, to expand to 34,000 units by end of calendar 2013 from 28,000 units in 2012. The market for such vehicles account for less than 2% in the total passenger vehicle market.