Mercedes-Benz India is considering hiking prices of its products every quarter in the next calendar year to offset the adverse impact of rupee depreciation against the euro, its Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer said on Tuesday. The company has already announced plans to hike prices of its products by up to 2 per cent from January 1, 2026. The price adjustment reflects the ongoing forex challenges as euro-rupee exchange rate consistently remains above Rs 100-mark in 2025, significantly higher than historical averages, it had stated. "We are considering price hike every quarter next year, and that is because of rupee devaluation to euro," Iyer told PTI here on the sidelines of FICCI Mercedes-Benz Bharat Innovation business ideas challenge programme launch. He said about 18 months back, the exchange value was Rs 89 to a euro and now it's around Rs 104-105. "That is more than 15-18 per cent of depreciation," he noted. While the company has already announced price hike from Janu
Mercedes-Benz India on Friday said it will hike vehicle prices by up to 2 per cent from January in order to offset the impact of weakening rupee value against the Euro. The price correction, capped at 2 per cent, reflects sustained forex pressures that have characterised the luxury automotive landscape throughout 2025, the luxury car market leader said in a statement. "Currency headwinds have persisted longer than we anticipated this year, with the Euro consistently trading over the Rs 100 mark. This prolonged volatility affects every aspect of our operations, from imported components for local production to completely built units," Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Santosh Iyer said. The currency environment has created substantial cost pressures across the supply chain, affecting both imported components for local assembly, as well as import of CBU (completely built vehicles), the Pune-based automaker said. Despite the company's aggressive localisation strategy, which continues to .
Mercedes-Benz India and Zoho have partnered to launch a decentralised dealer management system to enhance customer experience and digitise the luxury automobile brand's nationwide dealership network. The Dealer Management System (DMS) -- SKYLine', will digitise the complete service lifecycle -- from booking and digital check-in to skill-based technician assignment and final delivery -- through real-time data integration, streamlined workflows, and unified backend operations. Each Mercedes-Benz dealership in India will now function through its own dedicated Zoho CRM setup, allowing independent operations while maintaining adherence to centrally defined standards, according to a joint statement. "SKYLine combines dealer-level autonomy with centrally governed processes, delivering a fully digitised and integrated platform across Mercedes-Benz India's nationwide dealership network, elevating customer ownership experience significantly, the statement said, adding that the rollout was ...
The recent GST rate cut is likely to make the upcoming festive season the 'best-ever' for the luxury carmaker, but there is a need to cap road taxes levied by states on car purchases for long-term growth of the industry, Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Santosh Iyer said. In an interaction with PTI here, Iyer noted that to help cost reduction measures trickle down to the end customer, some uniformity is required in road taxes levied by states across the country. While welcoming the GST rate rationalisation, he pointed out that the automotive sector remains one of the highest taxed, with state levies ranging from 15 to 22 per cent across the country. "The reduction in GST, which has a clear impact on price by 6- 8 per cent, would definitely have an impact on demand in the short run, for sure, because there has been a postponement of purchases in August that should get materialised," Iyer said. The GST rate cut brings a lot of positive sentiment and momentum to the market, he added. "
Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Santosh Iyer says GST rationalisation will boost festive sales, with buyers set to gain 5-8% price benefit
The panel recommended raising the GST rate to 18per cent from 5per cent currently for EVs priced between 2 million and 4 million rupees ($23,000-$46,000)
Iyer was talking to reporters on Tuesday night after launching the Mercedes-AMG CLE 53 4MATIC+ Coupe -- a high-performance, two-door luxury model -- in India
Company is 'comfortably placed' this year in sourcing critical supply, says automaker
Mercedes-Benz and BMW have termed the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) a positive development while noting that it would not have much bearing on the prices of luxury cars in the country. Last week, India and the UK sealed a landmark FTA that will lower tariffs on 99 per cent of Indian exports and would make it easier for British firms to export whisky, cars and other products to India, besides boosting the overall trade basket. The aim is to double two-way commerce by 2030 from the present USD 60 billion India has included adequate safeguards in the agreement to protect its sensitive sectors and in the automobile segment, the import duty will be reduced over 10-15 years. The duty concession on imports of petrol and diesel engine vehicles from the UK is limited to a pre-defined quota. "Fundamentally, we have always advocated free trade as a multinational company, because we feel that free trade helps in better growth... So I think for us, definitely it's a real welcome move, ...
Luxury carmaker to raise prices in two phases in 2025 due to forex pressures while expanding localisation to protect margins and banking on India's economic resilience
Forces Motors' quarterly profit before exceptional items and tax rose 27.5% to 2.73 billion rupees from a year ago. It recorded a one-off income of 3.95 billion rupees from government incentives
India could be a beneficiary in the long-term from the ongoing tariff war that could lead to better trade and lowering of barriers, even though there can be short-term shocks, according to Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer. While the Indian automotive segment is not directly impacted by US President Donald Trump's tariff war, Iyer told PTI that consumer sentiment in the luxury segment is still positive despite a highly volatile scenario globally due to the current geopolitical situation, currency fluctuations and supply chain concerns. "For the first time, we are discussing about opening up of our borders and also opening for two-way trade. Generally, we have always advocated for more open and fair trade policies that help foster global economic growth and drive innovation as well," he said when asked about the overall impact of the ongoing tariff war. The free trade, based on low tariffs and reduced trade barriers, has significantly increased international
Mercedes-Benz India had its best year in its 30-year history in 2024, selling 19,565 vehicles-a 12.4 per cent year-on-year growth
Rapid economic growth in India has wrought a fundamental shift in attitude towards luxury purchases among its younger generations
Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India plans to roll out 8 new models, including battery electric vehicles, this year as it looks to sustain sales momentum having posted record sales in 2024. The company sold 19,565 units last year, registering a growth of 12 per cent as compared to 17,408 units in 2023. Mercedes also saw sales of battery electric vehicles almost doubled in 2024 as compared to 2023. The company said one out of the four vehicles it sold last year was a top end vehicle (TEV) with a price tag exceeding Rs 1.5 crore. In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Santosh Iyer said the new launches would be a mix of new models as well as fresh versions of the existing line up. The company introduced 14 new models last year in India. Iyer noted that the company remains optimistic as sales growth to continue in 2025 as well despite witnessing some headwinds in the second half of last year. In the second half of last year, the market growth actuall
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz on Monday said Emrah Ozer has been appointed as its Chief Financial Officer for its Indian operations as part of an organisational change in its finance and controlling function effective since January 1, 2025. Ozer, currently associated as a Member of the Board of Management and Head of Finance & Controlling, Mercedes-Benz Otomotiv Turkey, will be inducted into the Board of Mercedes-Benz India as Executive Director in due course of time. He succeeds Evren Cakabey who has taken over as the Executive Director & CFO, Mercedes-Benz G GmbH, Austria, effective January 1, 2025, Mercedes-Benz India said in a statement. Commenting on Ozer's appointment, Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said the company will benefit from his rich expertise in managing International Finance, business modelling and investor relations. "We are confident that Emrah, with his diverse international financial experience and proven track ...
India's luxury car market sees rapid growth, with over 50,000 units expected to be sold in 2025, supported by rising wealth, new model launches, and a thriving affluent class
For the first time in history, the luxury car market is poised to cross the sales mark of 50,000 units in 2024, with Mercedes-Benz leading the way
A notice dated Sept 30 says Volkswagen used to import 'almost the entire' car in unassembled condition -- which attracts a 30-35 per cent import tax in India under rules for CKD, or completely knocked
Luxury carmaker BMW India on Friday said it will increase prices of its entire model range by up to 3 per cent from January next year. The new prices will be effective from January 1, 2025 onwards, the German automaker said in a statement. The company's range of locally produced cars includes the 2 Series Gran Coupe, 3 Series Long Wheelbase, 5 Series Long Wheelbase, 7 Series Long Wheelbase, X1, X3, X5, X7 and M340i. BMW also sells models like i4, i5, i7, i7 M70, iX1, BMW iX, Z4 M40i, M2 Coupe among others as Completely Built-up Units (CBU). Last week, Mercedes-Benz had announced to hike the prices of its vehicles in India by up to 3 per cent on its entire model range in the portfolio from January 1, 2025, citing a rise in input costs, inflationary pressures and higher operational expenses. Prices of Mercedes-Benz cars in India will get costlier by Rs 2 lakh for the GLC to Rs 9 lakh for the top-end Mercedes-Maybach S 680 luxury limousine.