Mercedes worried about rupee depreciation

Eberhard H Kern says the compnay has no problem in short term regarding rupee depreciation

German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz is “a bit worried” about the depreciation of rupee, which breached the barrier of 60 a dollar and closed at 60.73 yesterday.

“If the rupee continues to stay at this level, we have to look at our pricing and adjust our prices,” Mercedes-Benz India managing director and chief executive officer Eberhard H Kern told mediapersons.

Kern said the company had no problem in the short term with regard to rupee depreciation “as we have hedged.”

However, in the long run there could be an increase in costs as “hedging does not last forever.”

Nevertheless, Kern was confident Mercedes would register a double digit growth in sales this year. It had sold 2009 units in January-March 2013 registering a 5.3 per cent growth over corresponding period in 2012.

Last year, the company had sold a total of 7,138 vehicles, the highest number of automobiles it had sold in a year in India so far.

Kern launched the new E-Class sedan here on Thursday. While ex-showroom Hyderabad price of E 200 CGI (petrol) is Rs 42.43 lakh, the price of E 250 CDI Avantgarde (diesel) is Rs 45.27 lakh.

There are also 100 units of limited edition of E 250 CDI priced at Rs 50.78 lakh.