Page 3 - Mercedez Benz

Aiming for double digit volume growth in 2024: Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO

The German carmaker, which leads the luxury car market in the country, recorded a 10 per cent year-on-year growth to 17,408 units in 2023

Mercedes Benz lines up Rs 200 cr investment, will launch over 12 products

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will invest Rs 200 crore in India this year on new products, manufacturing operations and digitisation, to strengthen its position after posting record sales of 17,408 units in 2023, a top company official said on Monday. Mercedes-Benz India will have more than 12 launches in 2024, including three electric vehicles, out of which half will be in the top end vehicle segment (TEV) and will be priced Rs 1.5 crore onwards. "This year marks a special year as we celebrate 30 years of Mercedes Benz in India. We are going to invest Rs 200 crore more into our factory in Pune. This takes a total investment of Rs 3,000 crore in India now. So that's a strong statement of intent," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI in an interview. These investments will be towards manufacturing operations, new product startups and digitisation of the manufacturing process, he added. In 2023, Iyer said, the company recorded its best-ever year ..

Mercedes-Benz India's research wing ties up with IISc for EV innovation

Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India on Wednesday said it has joined hands with the Indian Institute of Science for advanced research collaboration with focus on electric vehicles. The two partners have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a two-year association aimed at fostering joint research and promote collaborative innovation with a focus on Electric Vehicles (EV), Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI) said in a statement. "Collaborations that help bridge the gap between industry and academia can enable the scientific research community to offer cutting-edge innovation that meets the evolving demands of the industry and customers," MBRDI Managing Director and CEO Manu Saale said. "We are excited at the possibilities of working closely with the Indian Institute of Science and look forward to bringing the best of Indian engineering research to the global stage," Saale said. The partnership will focus on driving engineering transformation and ...

Luxury carmakers Mercedes, Audi see record sales in festive season

Luxury carmakers Mercedes and Audi have dispatched record units this festive season as the demand for high-end cars continues to grow in the country. Driven by brisk sales throughout the year, the luxury car industry in India is hopeful of achieving its best-ever performance this year. In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Santosh Iyer said the festive season this year from Onam to Diwali has been better than last years', owing to multiple new launches, an attractive portfolio and also strong customer sentiment. "We have seen record deliveries during Dussehra, Dhanteras and Diwali reflecting customer enthusiasm," he noted. Iyer said that the automaker continues to have a positive industry outlook, expecting record sales this year. It however expects supply chain-related disruptions to continue to pose challenges, affecting the production and availability of SUVs, especially the GLC. "We continue to have a positive industry outlook, expecting record sale

Carmakers Mercedes, Lexus, Audi expect bumper sales in festive period

Luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz, Lexus and Audi expect sales momentum to continue in the ongoing festive season with demand remaining robust for high-end cars. With offtake remaining strong, the festive season push could even see the luxury car segment posting its highest ever volumes in a year in 2023. In an interaction with PTI, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer noted that the festive season looks very promising as compared with last year. "This year the festive season is spread across four months and we are optimistic as we started on a very positive note, from Onam onwards," he stated. With a strong demand primarily driven by recent launches and buoyant customer sentiment, Mercedes-Benz expects the growth momentum to continue, Iyer said. Lexus India President Naveen Soni said the luxury car market continues to grow in the country. "This year, the demand for high-end cars has brought cheer to the industry. Luxury cars, as a market segment, are growing at

Luxury car market poised for record sales in 2023 after stellar H1 numbers

Indian luxury car segment is driving towards an all-time high sales this year with the big three, Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, posting record numbers in the first half of 2023. In the January-June period this year, German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz posted its best-ever half-yearly sales in India at 8,528 units, a growth of 13 per cent over 7,573 units in the year-ago period. Similarly, compatriot BMW Group also posted record sales of 5,867 units of luxury cars across its BMW and MINI brands during the period, its best half-yearly sales in India. Another German luxury carmaker, Audi, posted a 97 per cent jump in retail sales in India at 3,474 units in the first half of 2023 as compared to 1,765 units in the January to June period in 2022. "Our estimate is that in the first six months (of the year) about 21,000 cars have been sold in the luxury space and normally H2 (second half) is better than H1. So, our estimate is that the whole luxury cars segment should be close to about ...

Mercedes-Benz eyes 20% sales from pre-owned segment this year: Official

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is looking at around 20 per cent of its total sales this year to come from pre-owned car sales despite sourcing of used vehicles remaining a challenge, according to a senior company official. The company's arm Mercedes-Benz India had sold over 3,000 pre-owned cars last year and is witnessing robust demand for such vehicles with the holding period coming down to around 10 days as compared to 30 to 45 days earlier. "Still 18 to 20 per cent of our total car sales will come from used cars. So last year, if we did 16,000-odd cars, I will say 3,000 plus cars were used cars, about 20 per cent. Similar ratios will continue, I would say at 20-odd per cent," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI. He was responding to a query on the sales of the company's pre-owned cars. The company sells its pre-owned cars through the "Mercedes-Benz Certified" channel which are located at all dealers' locations and are actively selling and ...

Mercedes-Benz accelerating drive to bring top-end vehicles to India

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is accelerating its drive to bring top-end vehicles priced above Rs 1 crore to India, with demand even from non-metros growing at an accelerated pace, according to a senior company official. The company, which on Thursday launched the premium new AMG SL55 MATIC+ roadster model with prices starting at Rs 2.35 crore ( all India ex-showroom) -- its fifth launch of the year -- will bring another model in the top-end vehicles (TEVs) segment, which account for 25 per cent of its total sales in India. The Mercedes-Benz SL55 4MATIC+ features a petrol V8 engine with twin turbo charge and offers a top speed of 295 km/hour, the company said. "The non-metros, from a percentile basis are even bigger than metros but their base is small...Metros still contribute close to 70 per cent (of TEV sales) and the balance 30 per cent comes from non-metros...," Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI here in an interview. Still, he said the contribution ..

Mercedes-Benz adds OpenAI's ChatGPT to voice control of its vehicles

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz has expanded the use of artificial intelligence (AI) and added OpenAI's ChatGPT into the voice control of its vehicles as the next step

Mercedes to unveil latest E-Class tomorrow: Price, features, details here

The latest Mercedes E-class comes with the option to customise the entire cockpit experience according to one's preferences

Mercedes-Benz to increase prices by Rs 2-12 lakh across models from Apr 1

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India on Thursday said it will increase prices of its vehicles ranging between Rs 2 lakh to Rs 12 lakh across different models from April 1, to offset rising input costs specially the adverse impact of foreign exchange. This will be the second time in three months that the company is increasing prices of its vehicles. The ex-showroom price of the company's model range will increase by up to 5 per cent from April 1, 2023, the company said. Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI that the company has been tracking the Euro and the Rupee has depreciated against it in the past few months. "In October it (Euro) was around 78-79 (to a Rupee) and now it is at 87. It is really putting pressure and if we don't take this proactive step now, it will deteriorate our overall business model in India," he said. As a result, from April, prices of the company's A-Class limousine will go up by Rs 2 lakh and GLA SUV by Rs 7 lakh for the top-end

Mercedes-Benz will launch 10 new vehicles in India in 2023: Santosh Iyer

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will launch ten new vehicles in India in 2023 with majority in the over Rs 1-crore price category, which grew over 69 per cent last year, according to a senior company official. Mercedes-Benz India, which posted a record sales in 2022 at 15,822 units, had sold over 3,500 cars that are priced above Rs 1 crore last year. In 2021, Mercedes-Benz India had sold 11,242 units. Its previous best sales was achieved in 2018 at 15,583 units. The company is looking at an overall double-digit sales growth this year, and as part of the drive it launched its 'AMG E53 4MATIC+ Cabriolet' model priced at Rs 1.3 crore on Friday. "The biggest growth for us in the last year has come from the TEV (top-end vehicle) segment, where we have grown by 69 per cent," newly appointed Managing Director & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India Santosh Iyer told PTI. The company's top-end vehicles include S-Class Maybach, GLS Maybach, top-end AMGs, S-Class and GLS SUV, which are priced ...

Mercedes to build its own electric vehicle charging network in N America

Mercedes-Benz says it will build its own worldwide electric vehicle charging network starting in North America in a bid to compete with EV sales leader Tesla. The German luxury automaker said at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas on Thursday that it will start building the North American network this year at a total cost of just over 1 billion euros (USD 1.05 billion). When completed in six or seven years, the network will have 400 charging stations with more than 2,500 high-power plugs, the company said. Networks in Europe and China and other markets will follow, with completion of the full network by the end of the decade, when the company intends to sell all electric vehicles depending on market conditions. The full network will have more than 2,000 charging stations and over 10,000 plugs worldwide, Ola Kllenius, chairman of Mercedes-Benz's management board, told reporters. The company said the Mercedes-branded network will be open to owners of all electric vehicles, but Mercedes

Lance Bennett to be vice-prez for sales, marketing at Mercedes-Benz India

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India on Monday said it has appointed Lance Bennett as Vice President, Sales and Marketing, with effect from February 1, 2023. Bennett -- currently General Manager and Company Director, Mercedes-Benz New Zealand responsible for sales, marketing and after-sales support for passenger cars -- will succeed Santosh Iyer who is elevated as the Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, effective January 1, 2023, the company said in a statement. "We are confident that Lance, with his international market experience and proven record of driving customer excellence, will continue the growth momentum of Mercedes-Benz in India," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Martin Schwenk said. Bennett started his career with Mercedes-Benz New Zealand in 2005 as a management accountant and went on to hold several senior positions within the automotive industry, including postings in the US, Australia and New Zealand. He re-joined Mercedes-Benz New Zealand ..

Apple, Mercedes-Benz partner to bring Spatial Audio to different models

Apple Music and Mercedes-Benz have partnered to bring Spatial Audio to different models with support for Dolby Atmos.

Nitin Gadkari urges Mercedes-Benz to increase car manufacturing in India

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Friday asked German premium car maker Mercedes-Benz to produce more cars locally and emphasised that such a move reduces the cost besides increasing affordability. Speaking at the rollout of Mercedes-Benz India's first locally assembled EQS 580 4MATIC EV from its Chakan manufacturing facility in Pune, Gadkari, who is the Minister for Road Transport and highways, said that there is a huge market for electric vehicles in the country. "You increase the production, only then it is possible to reduce cost. We are middle-class people, even I can't afford your car," the minister said. The latest EV from the German car maker comes with a price tag of Rs 1.55 crore. The EQS 580 joins the company's EQC SUV and AMG EQS53 4MATIC flagship EV. Mercedes-Benz India started its electro-mobility drive in India with the launch of its all-electric SUV EQC as a fully imported unit in October 2020 priced at Rs 1.07 crore. There are a total of 15.7 lakh registered electr

Mercedes Benz to roll out EQS 580 from Sept 30; here's what to expect

EQS 580 will be offered with a dual-motor set-up, one on each axle. It develops 516 bhp and 856 Nm of peak torque and is paired with a 4Matic all-wheel-drive system.

Mandatory wearing of seat belt in rear seat could have saved Cyrus Mistry

The Mercedes-Benz GLC 220d 4MATIC, the SUV former Tata Sons chairman Cyrus Mistry was riding in on Sunday, comes with various safety features to protect passengers, including rear seat belts which apparently were not being used by the occupants of the ill-fated car. Mistry (54) and his friend Jahangir Pandole were killed in an accident in the Palghar district of Maharashtra on Sunday. Anahita Pandole (55), who was driving the 2017 version of the SUV, and her husband Darius Pandole (60), were seriously injured. The 2017 GLC 220d 4MATIC comes with seven airbags overall. There are no front-facing airbags for rear passengers in the car and just curtain airbags on the sides. And just like any other car, airbags are 'SRS' or Supplementary Restraint System. The primary restraint system on cars remains the seat belt. Therefore, usage of seat belts is crucial for safety of rear passengers, whether they are travelling in entry-level models or high-end luxury cars like the one Mistry was usi

Demand for luxury cars in India rises to a new high, buyers getting younger

The sale of supercars, costing above Rs 2,5 crore, is set to be 600-650 in 2022. This is expected to fetch Rs 1,200 crore to the auto companies

Santosh Iyer to lead Mercedes in India as Martin Shwenk moves to Thailand

Youngest and first Indian to be appointed for the top job