India is growing in prominence as Mercedes-Benz sets about recalibrating its plans of going completely electric by 2030. Given the growing appetite for electric and expanding consumer demand in the luxury segment, the German auto major targets a quarter of its sales to comprise of electric vehicles over four years.
In a conversation with Financial Express Online, Lance Bennett, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mercedes- Benz India outlined that, “the order pipeline for electric products is strong and we plan to bring more products to the market. We are targetting 25 per cent of our sales to comprise of electric vehicles over next 4 years. As per our global strategy we are preparing to be 100 percent electric by 2030 and need to evaluate India’s position in that context. India is an important market for Mercedes-Benz.”
In fact in a bid to maintain the sales momentum and the growth trajectory, the company has undertaken new customer initiatives as part of the Mercedes-Benz India’s motto for 2023 ‘DESIRE for the Extraordinaire’. The German luxury car major closed CY2022 as ‘Best Year Ever’ with sales of 15,822 units up 41 per cent from, 11,242 sold in 2021.
The company aims to maintain the double-digit growth chart intact on the back of the 10 news launches in 2023 including the Mercedes-AMG E 53 Cabriolet launched in January and the brand new performance hybrid Mercedes-AMG GT 63 E performance. According to Bennett, it is a “giant leap to a future of driving performance with electrified powertrains.” He was upbeat about the “appetite for electric cars in the Indian market and plan to bring more electric cars to this market as well.”
The other launches this year inlcudes iterations of the GLC Coupe, EQS SUV and the EQE SUV.
The company aims to drive brand desirability which is aligned with Mercedes-Benz’s global goal of ‘building the world’s most desirable cars’ and enhance its digital footprint to create a more engaging ambience. “Higher digital engagement tools in our retail outlets is working really well and helping create greater traction for our customers,” added Bennett.
Mercedes-Benz India has been revamping its touch points across India. The company is looking at transforming the retail outlets for a more luxurious experience and already introduced 20 such touchpoints in Q1 of the calendar year, 2023 starting with Kochi and moving on to Coimbatore and Chandigarh.
