Mercedes S-Class price cut Rs 21 lakh as local assembly starts

Mercedes-Benz India started local assembly of its latest model S-Class (S-500) at the Pune facility and slashed the price of the super luxe sedan by up to Rs 21 lakh as it seeks to boost last year's growth momentum, when sales soared 32 per cent.
The local assembly from the Chakan, Pune facility, with up to 40 per cent local sourcing, comes almost three months ahead of schedule as the company saw a "tremendous" response to its latest car, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Eberhard Kern said.
Within the first 16 days of the January launch, 125 units of the S-Class were booked.

"In fact, the first car was rolled out from the Chakan plant today," Kern told a select group of reporters in Pune last evening.
The company is sourcing the cockpit, axles, engine parts, body paints and body parts, and the transmission for the S-500 locally.
Asked about the rationale for advancing the local assembly, Kern said, "No other car stands for the Mercedes brand promise more than the S-Class and we are delighted to manufacture the new S-Class at Chakan. This is also due to robust demand for the S-Class, which has bookings till June."
"This also reiterates our commitment to bring world-class manufacturing facilities into this strategic market, which is one of our top 10 markets globally, and to support our growth in the luxury automotive business," he said.

He also announced an up to Rs 21 lakh price cut for the top-end S-500 at Rs 1.36 crore (ex-showroom Mumbai) from Rs 1.57 crore for the imported model, following local assembly and local sourcing and the resultant customs duty gains.