Mercedes-Benz India has aimed to achieve a double digit growth for the year 2013. This was confirmed by CEO Eberhard Kern during an interaction with the media at the launch of their new showroom in Navi Mumbai. He said that 2012 had been a good year for them and that in the first quarter of 2013 they achieved a growth of five per cent. This is something they hope to increase by a significant amount in the second quarter of this year.
Kern also confirmed that A-Class in both petrol and diesel variants will be launched for the Indian market within the next three months. He said that the car would the first luxury hatchback in the country and much like it is globally, the A-Class will be targeted at a much younger set of buyers. The India-spec A-Class has been adapted for the Indian roads and will feature changes to the suspension as well as a few other components.
The launch of the A-Class will be preceded by the B-Class diesel. The German automaker had launched the B-Class petrol last year in October but had stalled the release of the B-Class diesel to allow them to fully adapt the engine to the standard of diesel sold in the country. He added that A-Class was their most important launch of the year but not their last for India in this financial.
Kern also said that Mercedes-Benz plans to introduce 13 new models globally by the year 2020 of which at least 10 of them will completely new vehicles without any predecessors. They will evaluate each vehicle when it is launched to see if it is be viable for the Indian market at that time.
In terms of their existing models and expansions plans, the E-Class has been their best seller and retailed over 800 units in the first quarter alone, however, in terms of percentages, Kern said that their CBUs achieved the maximum growth. The German automaker is currently is expanding its Chakan plant and hopes to have it completed by the end of the year.
