Mercedes to open 15 dealerships this year

Mercedes-Benz is on an expansion spree, the German carmaker will open 15 sales outlets this year. In a new ‘go to customer’ strategy, a few dealerships will also come up in Tier II and Tier III cities. 

Eberhard Kern, CEO and managing director of the company said, "A qualitative network expansion planned for 2015 is pivotal for the brand's expansion and growth in India.”

The company claims that the Eastern part of India has high potential. So much that about five per cent of Mercedes’ overall 13 per cent growth figure was contributed by the eastern region.

Around Rs 1,000 crore has been invested by the company in India, of which a new Rs 150 crore assembly line has been established at their plant in Chakan. This new assembly line will help double the company’s production capacity to 20,000 units from the existing 10,000 units. 

The company sold 10,000 plus units in 2014, a first since its establishment and expects a further growth of over 15 per cent this year. And it seems achievable with the new CLA-Class and the C-Class being two hot properties that might drive the sales further. It will be an epic battle between Audi and Mercedes with both companies now pretty much evenly matched in terms of products portfolio. We expect Mercedes to do well again this year and probably even snatch the crown of the top luxury carmaker from Audi.

Source: ET