Luxury car-maker Mercedes, which was dethroned by German rival BMW as the leader of
the Indian luxury car market in 2009, is expecting to sell at least 10 per cent more cars in 2010 than it did in 2009, a top company official said here on Wednesday.
Mercedes sold 3,250 cars last year, with the E-class series contributing just 33 per cent. But it is bullish about market prospects of the new E-Class cars and expects this range to account for 40 per cent of all Mercs sold in 2010. In 2009, Mercedes sales dropped by around 10 per cent compared to the previous year.
"We are targeting robust double-digit growth in 2010. In 2009, for 3-4 months, we didn't have the E-Class which is our bread and butter range for the Indian market. But now we are back in business. We have already sold around 400-450 units of the two new models -- E350 V6 and E350 CDI BE which were launched late last year. We sold just around 1,050 units in the E-Class last year, but this year it will be much better with two more new models we have just launched — E250 V6 and E250 CDI BE," said Debashish Mitra, director - sales & marketing, Mercedes-Benz India. The new E-Class range offers consumers a price range of Rs 42 lakh to Rs 50 lakh a car.
While there are over 10,000 E-Class cars plying on Indian roads, the success of the new E-Class holds the key to Mercedes India’s fortunes. On an overall basis, the company sells around 55-60 per cent of its cars in Delhi and Mumbai while Karnataka, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Punjab are among the upcoming markets for the company, Mitra said.
On the evolution of the Indian luxury car market, Mitra said, "Some years ago, the Indian luxury car market was still developing. Now, the market has evolved and inching towards matury. Our Rs 2-crore SLS AMG Desert Gold has already found a buyer in Gujarat within two weeks of it being showcased at the recent Auto Expo".
source: mydigitalfc
