Mercedes-Benz extended its electric vehicle portfolio with the launch of the EQE 500 4Matic SUV at an introductory price of Rs 1.39 crore, ex-showroom. Following its top-down mantra, the German luxury automobile manufacturer has introduced the EV SUV only in one fully loaded variant which enters the Indian market via the complete built unit (CBU). Arup Das catches up with Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO, of Mercedes-Benz India, who speaks about the electric vehicle’s ecosystem, technology like Chap GPT and his take on what is next for diesel-powered vehicles in India.
What’s the road plan for Mercedes-Benz India to achieve 25 per cent of the sales to be contributed by electric vehicles in a span of three or four years?
It’s all about having a long-term commitment and developing a comprehensive ecosystem. We are already bringing in EV products which are being well received by the early adopters. It’s not about looking at volumes but rather a commitment to carbon neutrality. For us, the focus will be on a combination of products, localisation, charging infrastructure, customer education, and availability of the right talent to repair and service these cars over time.
Mercedes-Benz will soon launch a superfast charging network in the USA, China and Germany. So what plans can we expect for India?
Currently, we have 140 charging stations in India out of which 40 are equipped with 60 kilowatt and 180 kilowatt chargers. Initially, 180 kilowatt chargers were restricted to only Mercedes-Benz vehicles but today we have opened it up to all brands. We have covered almost all the main trunk roads like Mumbai-Goa, Mumbai-Bengaluru, Bengaluru-Chennai, Bengaluru-Kerala, Bengaluru-Hyderabad, Delhi-Jaipur, Delhi-Chandigarh Delhi-Dehradun and Delhi-Shimla. So, we have tried to look at where do customers travel and where they need intracity charge. We are more than happy if anybody wants to further collaborate with us.
Technology is rapidly changing and AI plays a crucial role. Mercedes-Benz has begun tests with ChatGPT. Will this end up making the experience smarter for the customers?
Our cardinal principle is any technology should benefit the customer. Currently, we have deployed a Beta version of ChatGPT in the US where we are studying how it benefits the customers, how many are actually using it, whether is it adding value to their day-to-day commute and in specific which features add the value and that’s what we will enhance further. We will only invest in areas which will significantly enhance the customer experience, not technology for the sake of technology because then that’s not going to help anyone.
Order bank is a challenge for all manufacturers including Mercedes-Benz. With the launch of the GLC, the most successful SUV in your portfolio, how are you dealing with the increase in demand?
Thanks to our production colleagues, we were able to ramp up significantly and therefore we launched the car only after we had the first 100 vehicles out of production. We have delivered close to 500 more GLCs already. Of course, the demand is strong, which is good. At the same time, the customers will not be happy if they don’t get it during the festive period, so we have to balance it and we are working as hard as possible to cater to this.
The festive season has started. Are you looking at double-digit growth?
At least for this year, we are hopeful because we had a peak last time. Of course, it’s challenging to do better than last year’s peak that we saw in festive. At this stage, the parameters look okay, but it also depends on supply and many other factors. We will have to wait for the first week of October when the quarterly results will be announced.
Union Minister of Road, Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari recently mentioned a proposal on levying an additional 10 per cent tax on diesel-powered vehicles. Later on, he clarified it’s not an active proposal, but this shows the government’s thinking towards diesel cars, What is your take on this?
I was there when the Honorable Minister made a comment and the diesel comment was on a much larger scale as he also spoke about construction machinery, generators etc. Coming to cars, Mercedes Benz diesel engines are the cleanest and are BS6 phase 2 compliant. When it comes to CO2, gasoline engines emit more CO2 than diesel engines. So in that way, you need a mixed portfolio and fortunately, we have that. If the market shifts to gasoline then so will we shift.
Post Covid stage, the luxury segment has seen a pike in demand. What are the factors behind this?
It’s a combination of many things like the infrastructure which leads to very good intercity connectivity and customers also want safe cars. Second, I think corporate India earnings are very strong. So people are spending for themselves and for their employees. Also with the rise in salaried class, there are more people buying luxury cars. Third, demographics like there’s an increase in women buying luxury cars.
With the launch of the EQE, the EV SUV enters India via the CBU route. Are there any plans of locally assembling it here in India?
At this stage, we would like to operate with just these three cars — EQS, EQE and EQB — because there’s a strategy behind it. We have the top end with locally produced cars and then we have the CBU options. Honestly, what matters for the customer is pricing. If you look at the price of the EQE, it’s almost the same as a CKD vehicle.
At Rs 1.39 crore, it’s a great value because the GLE 400 costs around Rs 1.08 crore ex-showroom, but on-road it will cost price Rs 1.4 crore. One also has to keep in mind that in cities like Delhi and Mumbai, there’s no road tax on EVs. So technically it’s a fantastic value. Also, the EQE offers many more features than the combustion engine SUV like the 56-inch Hyper Screen.
