Mercedes-Benz India on Thursday launched its new Mercedes S-Class car, which is made in India. The new S Class will be cheaper by Rs 50 lakh compared to the completely built units (CBU) imported into the country. The company rolled out two variants of the new S Class from its Chakan facility in Pune. The S 350 D has been priced at Rs 1.57 crore and the S 450 4MATIC at Rs 1.62 crore.
The luxury carmaker has seen a quick recovery in the market with record sales in the third quarter of 2021. However, the Mercedes-Benz India, managing director, Martin Schwenk has warned of supply-side challenges which could affect their ability to service this demand in the last quarter. There would be a waiting period of 16 weeks and even longer in some cases because of the semiconductor shortage, logistics challenges and availability of components, Schwenk said.
Mercedes-Benz carved a strong rebound in its sales performance in Q3 2021 (July-September) buoyed by a strong product portfolio and resurgent customer sentiment, Schwenk said. The company has seen a V-shaped recovery since June. Under normal circumstances they could have sold more, he added.
The new S Class was launched in June as a CBU and going by the response, the company accelerated the launch of the cars made in India. The company has sold 8,250 Mercedes S Class cars in the country to date. Mercedes-Benz now produces 13 models in India and has the largest portfolio of locally manufactured products.
