German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz, which on Wednesday reported a 34 per cent jump in sales in India in the first nine months, is poised to regain its numero uno position, toppling its compatriot arch-rival and market leader Audi by December-end.
The Pune-based company sold 10,079 cars during the January-September period this year, almost equal to the entire volume of calendar year 2014, during which it sold 10,201 units.
“The success of the first three quarters has been in line with our expectations and we are confident of achieving our target of a sustainable double-digit growth,” said Roland Folger, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, who took over from outgoing chief Eberhard Kern on October 1. The company has already overtaken Audi in the first half of 2015 and it is now eyeing a clear leadership in the full year sales volume. Even as pressure mounts on Audi India, its chief Joe King had told Financial Chronicle that the company would maintain its leadership in the Indian market.
At the close of calendar year 2014, Mercedes lagged Audi by only 650 units. BMW came third at 6,812 units. Other players in the fray include German BMW, British Jaguar Land Rover and Swedish Volvo, which compete in the country’s 35,000 unit luxury car market.
“I am glad to see the India strategy is bearing fruits, and we are well poised for entering the fourth quarter with a very strong footing,” Folger said. This continuous sales success in Asia’s third-biggest economy, he said, was a clear reflection of its customer-centric approach and its relentless drive towards creating customers for life.
The company, having started 2015 with a growth-focus strategy of introducing 15 new models and revived the market with as many dealerships across the country during the year under Kern’s leadership, has so far introduced 12 new products, besides opening 13 new outlets. Currently, it has a network of 80 outlets across 39 cities.
“We will also redefine the luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment with the launch of the new GLE on October 14," Folger said. The company said the main drivers of sales growth were a young product portfolio comprising new generation cars, sedans, SUVs and the AMG performance cars.
“The CLA, the C-Class and the E-Class sedans spearheaded the sales volumes of Mercedes-Benz, coupled with strong performance from the SUV portfolio as well,” the company said in a statement.
The sedan portfolio grew 39 per cent in the January-September 2015 period, while the SUV category jumped by 70 per cent, it said. The company's top-end performance brand Mercedes-AMG and the Mercedes-Maybach sub-brand, which was re-launched in India last month, also saw strong performance during the period. The Mercedes-Maybach S 600, its most luxurious saloon imported fromGermany and priced at Rs 2.60 crore, was already sold to the rich and famous in the country before its India re-launch. To cash in on this craze for the ‘top of pyramid’ sedan in the fifthlargest car market, the company has starting rolling out locally-assembled variant Maybach S 500 from its Chakan factory near Pune.
With a price band of Rs 1.67 crore at Pune ex-showroom, it is the most expensive car to be assembled in the country.
