Mercedes Benz in India Archives

March 13, 2014

Locally Manufactured Mercedes-Benz S Class Launched for Rs 1.36 crore ex-showroom Mumbai

2014 Mercedes-Benz S Class thrown its gate opens to the world months back, and it received good response in India too. After the launch, the three-pointed star logoed carmaker decided to manufacture new S-Class locally at its Chakan plant in Pune, which the locally manufactured model is being launched for Rs 1.36 lakh ex-showroom Mumbai.

However, the fully imported version was rolled out on our shores for 1.57 crore ex-showroom Delhi, which would cost around Rs 2 crore on-road in Mumbai. The brand was then reported to have received 125 orders of the same at the time of launch. Going with localization must be definitely benefitting the brand in a number of ways, which will also allow the dealership to capitalize on it, and sell it in more numbers than before due to lower price tag.

The S-Class that is of great demand in India is the top-of-line variant S 500.

Mercedes-Benz S Class

Commenting at the launch, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “No other car stands for Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class and we are delighted to manufacture the new S-Class at our state-of-the art production facility in Chakan, Pune. Quality has all along been the strength of Mercedes-Benz India, and the new S 500 production in India is set to take this success story even further.”

S-Class is the flagship of Mercedes, so adding one more assortment at the launch, MB rolled out an initiative called ‘the S-class chauffeur training program’ which is a 21 module course emphasized on training the chauffeur how to use all the features of S-Class. Hope so, all the S-Class buyers are definitely are going to apt this program for their chauffeurs.

Hence, the near future must definitely speak the volumes of locally built S-Class, otherwise the investment of Merc will fall flat on its head, and we knew how Indian standards are accepted in the world, so might not be a good chance for exporting it.

January 15, 2014

Mercedes-Benz Confirms 10 New Product Launches in India for 2014

With the resolution to New Year of 2014, Mercedes-Benz India has said to go offensive during the year by launching 10 new products in the momentum. However, let’ not be standing on the foe of getting the stripped down version or special editions for the connation of new launches, but Mercedes said all of them will be the new cars rolling into Indian market for first time.

Hopefully, the new S-Class was the first attempt on our shores. While the other badges which are yet remains unknown to a larger extent.
The “AMG Performance Tour” will also be concluded under the 2014 offensiveness.

Mercedes-Benz too added the “My Mercedes” and “iSales” services under its hat for customer delight.

“We have committed ourselves to make 2014 as the ‘Year of Excellence’ as we feel that, as the most admired automotive brand in India, we need to set benchmarks in the Luxury segment”, said Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. “We are sure that our strategy shall eventually lead to better customer satisfaction and loyalty eventually leading to our profitable growth in India.”

Well, it would be the Best or Nothing for Mercedes-Benz during 2014, looking at its aggressiveness.

November 20, 2013

Mercedes Benz inaugurates new dealership in Lucknow

Pursuing the success of its exciting products, qualitative network expansion and novel after-sales initiatives to create a fascinating brand experience; Mercedes-Benz India today inaugurated its state-of-art dealership, Smart Hoops Lucknow, in the capital of Uttar Pradesh. Smart Hoops Lucknow was inaugurated by Eberhard Kern, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India and Neeraj Agarwal, Managing Director, SRM Smart Hoops Pvt. Ltd in the presence of Boris Fitz, Vice President, Sales & Network Development, Mercedes-Benz India. Located at Uttardhauna on Faizabad Road, the new dealership is spread over an area of 23,000 sq. ft. of showroom and 25,000 sq. ft. of workshop and carries an investment of INR 12 crores. Smart Hoops Lucknow promises to provide the luxury car aficionados of Lucknow an unparalleled experience in luxury car purchase and overall vehicle ownership.

Mr. Eberhard Kern, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India stated “Lucknow has a penchant for luxury and elegance and this has been fuelling the demand for Mercedes-Benz cars in Lucknow; the response has been very encouraging. The inauguration of this facility in Lucknow is part of Mercedes-Benz’s aggressive expansion of its network presence across the country and a commitment to the customers of Lucknow and nearby markets who aspire to own the Three Pointed Star. At Mercedes-Benz India we are focusing on qualitative network expansion and in making our dealerships luxury destinations. Smart Hoops Lucknow has been created keeping this in mind and to delight our growing customer base in Lucknow, as we consider Lucknow as one of the emerging markets with a potential for growth of luxury cars. Smart Hoops Lucknow will be bringing the Mercedes-Benz brand even closer to our discerning customers in this market.”

The showroom facility of Smart Hoops Lucknow was created over a span of ten months, and can display eleven cars with a well equipped workshop facility capable of carrying out all kinds of repair jobs. The facility has been designed and created to provide a fascinating ‘Mercedes-Benz experience’ for the customers. Smart Hoops Lucknow has an impressive eleven cars display with additional facilities like a Mercedes-Benz Customer Lounge, a magnificent arena for accessories and boutique items display, Café Mercedes and also a separate delivery area. Built over a span of ten months with twelve crores investment, the 23,000 sq. ft of showroom and 25,000 Sq. ft. of workshop of Smart Hoops Lucknow aims to create newer benchmark in terms of luxury car retailing in Lucknow. Smart Hoops Lucknow has dedicated and hand-picked personnel to assist the customers in making the purchase of their dream Mercedes-Benz a hassle free experience. Towards this, Smart Hoops Lucknow has a qualified and experienced team of fifty five committed personnel who will take care of the sales and service requirements of the customers.

The advanced workshop of Smart Hoops Lucknow spread over 25,000 sq. ft. has been built at par with the brand’s stringent global benchmark promising to deliver peace of mind to each Mercedes-Benz owner it services. Smart Hoop’s workshop with five mechanical bays and exclusive Body and Paint shop with five bays and paint booth can take care of all kinds of customer service requirements and service fifteen cars each day. The workshop can undertake general repairs and accident jobs, spares and round the clock after sales support. The workshop promises service and maintenance with optimum expenditure and aims at providing absolute customer delight. The workshop is built keeping in mind maximum convenience to the customers and hence provides pick and drop facility, a comfortable waiting lounge, a comfortable driver lounge etc.

Neeraj Agarwal, Managing Director, Smart Hoops Pvt. Ltd. commented on the inauguration: “We are extremely proud to partner with Mercedes-Benz for opening our full-fledged dealership in Lucknow. At the new facility we will offer the globally famed vehicle ownership experience of Mercedes-Benz comprising the fascinating product range and its unparalleled service standards. We have got fabulous response post the launch of our dealership last year. There is a lot of potential for Mercedes-Benz to grow in Lucknow, and with the new state-of-the-art facility we are confident of reaching out to more customers in Lucknow and other cities in Uttar Pradesh like Kanpur, Agra, Meerut, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Allahabad, Bareilly and Moradabad.”

With the establishment of this new facility at Lucknow, Mercedes-Benz India continues to have the benefit of the densest and most intensive network of sales and after-sales services by any luxury car manufacturer in India spread across 32 cities with over 57 outlets. The company has aggressively moved in its objective with a line of new product launches and network expansions in 2013, making it a year of offensive for Mercedes-Benz in India.

September 2, 2013

Mercedes Benz gives India its first Young Star Driver

India is a land of opportunities, is the quote to which Mercedes Benz seems going to reside by in near future. Lest, the German carmaker now had provided India with its fleet of first Young Star Drivers, which was concluded at the end of the hunt, that was initiated to look out for the best racing talent in India. This hunt was flagged off by Mercedes-Benz India, CEO Mr.Eberhard Kern and FMSCI president Vicky Chandhok in January 2013 and received 3200 applicants from 48 Indian cities and towns, out of which only 12 were chosen as finalists. Those a dozen competed against each other to set the best lap times amongst them, and final six made to the top level of competition.

However, it was delighting to hear that applications which the Mercedes Benz had received, 33% of them were from the small towns and cities, and the rest of them were form metros and major hubs.

Whereas, it isn’t scintillating to judge the participants on the basis of their belonging, the judges Arjun Balu (Reigning Indian Touring Car Champion having 17 years of rally experience), Amittrajit Ghosh (Current leader of 2013 Indian National Rally Championship & 2012 INRC Champion) and Sanjay Balu (Former National Champion with 25 years of motorsports experience) did their best to prove the right person of the mettle for aspiring Mercedes Benz’s initiative.

Moreover, it’s the winner who enjoys all the bounties, and the bounties of Mercedes Benz Young star Driver reflects, opportunity of interning with Mercedes AMG PETRONAS team for one race weekend and also winning a coveted seat in the AMG Driving Academy Basic & Advanced course in India, and for the next level PRO-Training in Germany.

Meanwhile, the 2nd runner drives an opportunity to learn at the basic level with the AMG driving academy in India. And as condition is concerned about the 1st runner up, he gets a chance to train with the AMG academy at the basic and advanced level.

Commenting on the same Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “Motorsports has been the DNA of brand Mercedes-Benz and we are proud of our long and successful association with different forms of motorsports across the globe and our unsurpassable racetrack achievements. It was Mercedes-Benz vision to identify and nurture motorsports talents in India and ‘Mercedes-Benz Young Star Driver’ programme is yet another pioneering effort in realizing that vision. The overwhelming response from youngsters across India, be it small towns or big metros, aspiring to make a career on the race track has made this one-of-its kind initiative a huge success and reiterates Mercedes-Benz’s leadership in pioneering unique engagements not only for our customers but also for motorsports enthusiasts.”

Mr. Kern further elaborated, “Winners of the ‘Mercedes-Benz Young Star Driver’ will gain invaluable exposure in working with the best talents from international racing circuit and also have the rare opportunity of being trained to improve their racing skills on international racing tracks under the guidance of the globally acclaimed trainers. This will act as a great fillip for these youngsters in embarking into the world of professional motor racing and will inspire others who want to opt for a racing career and achieve international exposure.”

August 30, 2013

Mercedes Benz hikes prices of its cars from 1st September 2013

Mercedes Benz India had officially announced to hike the prices of its cars from 1st September 2013 by 2.5% to 4.5%, depending on the models selected.

In the official statement released by the German carmaker says, the upward revising in prices is carried out as an outcome of the high exchange rates, raised import duties and notching input cost. In addition, the higher interest rates are also impacting this action of MB silently.

Commenting on the sets of new prices, Mr. Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, “The rising input costs along with higher import duties have been creating significant pressure on our bottomlines for quite some time now. The constant weakening of the currency and the increase in other relevant taxes further impacted the business, adversely. We have been absorbing a significant portion of these impacts till now, but to run a sustained and profitable business in the long run, revising the prices upwards was inevitable. However, despite the price hike, the attractive financial solutions from Mercedes-Benz Financial Services like ‘Flexinomics’, ‘STAR Agility’ and ‘STAR Supersonic’ loan approvals etc. are all tailor made for our customers. These solutions will provide benchmarking value proposition enabling a hassle free purchase, while our after-sales programmes like Star Care, Star Ease and Road Side Assistance, will enhance the customer’s overall ownership experience.”

As per the new tags of the Mercedes Benz India, mentioned below tags will follow their respective models plates:

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Hence, an exception to all, the price of newly launched “GL Class” which had recently started its production in India will remain unchanged.

However, the aspiring buyers of the German carmaker products need not to worry about. The three-pointed star badge automaker also provides some financial services to make the purchases attractive, and also offer the customers with most optimum ‘Cost of Ownership’ from its bay. Flexible financing system, and various warranty programmes are some of the features that said services of Mercedes Benz is known for filling the propositions of mentioned terms at best.

August 13, 2013

New dealership inaugurated in Coimbatore by Mercedes Benz

To keep pace with the increasing customer base in the country, Mercedes Benz India opened up another state of art, 3S facility in Coimbatore which is called as the Manchester of South India. This new dealership named as Sundaram Motors is located in the heart of Coimbatore giving an easy access to its customers. This new ambient facility was inaugurated by Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes Benz India, Mr Eberhard Kern and the Executive Director of Sundaram Motors, Mr. Sharath Vijayaraghavan.

On this occasion Mr. Eberhard Kern said that “We are excited to inaugurate our state-of-the-art 3S facility in Coimbatore which is an emerging market and look forward to provide our valued customers a fascinating experience of owning the Three Pointed Star. Coimbatore has seen a positive growth in demand for luxury cars and our customers will be delighted with a Mercedes-Benz dealership in their own city. With the inauguration of this dealership, we aim to reach out to more customers in the growing Tier II cities and give them an unparalleled luxury experience. We at Mercedes-Benz India believe that our dealer partners personify the brand and its ethos. Sundaram Motors have been our long standing partners and understands the demands of the market and we are confident that they will ensure a fascinating experience for each of our customers.”

While launching one of Mercedes Benz’s most eminent cars, E 63 AMG, in Coimbatore Mr Kern explained that “2013 is the ‘Year of Offensive’ for Mercedes-Benz India and it comprises introducing new fascinating products coupled with strategic market penetration. Coimbatore has a potential for luxury cars and also a penchant for performance cars; and we are only pleased to see our customer base increase in this market. The launch of the new E 63 AMG further reiterates our promise of bringing fascinating cars and providing memorable brand experience for the valued customers of the Three Pointed Star in Coimbatore.”

This 3S state of art facility offered by Sundaram Motors has been constructed in a period of less than 12 months and has space to display 9 cars. Inorder to offer the customers a great shopping experience, the facility also offers a cafe, accessories boutique, Valet parking as well as a driver’s lounge. With all these features available under one roof, this dealership leaves upto the expectation that customers have from MB. An easily accessible place with a classy modern infrastructure makes the entire car buying experience for the enthusiast a memorable one. To help the customers in making a car choice and solve their queries, there are 15 personnel who have been trained specially by MB.

Executive Director of Sundaram Motors, Mr. Sharath Vijayaraghavan said, “Our strong association for last ten years with Mercedes-Benz grew manifold and the inauguration of the new dealership in Coimbatore is yet another milestone achieved. As partners we are excited with the immense possibilities that this city and neighboring towns offer. The market trends in these areas show a definite ascend in the aspirational quotient of owning a luxury car like Mercedes-Benz. At Sundaram Motors we always ensure that our patrons are offered Mercedes- Benz’s globally famed vehicle ownership experience enabled through its fascinating range of cars and coupled with the benchmarking servicing standards. We pledge to provide an unparalleled vehicle ownership experience to our esteemed customers of Coimbatore”.

This showroom is covering an area of 12,500 sq. ft and employs 35 well qualified personnel. The center has 10 bays and an ability to handle 5 cars a day. This ensure that the customers get a round the clock support. The workshop can undertake accident jobs, general repairs, body paints, maintenance and spare works.

This year is being termed as the year of offensive by MB. The company has launched exciting products back to back to completely dominate the market. The year commenced with the launch of a G 63 AMG. This was followed by a GL class SUV and then came the A class, B class and E class. The company has recorded a growth of 32% in sales in the period between April to June 2013, as compared to last year. The company has, as if now, 57 outlets in around 32 cities in the country.

Sundaram Motors is located at
368-369 Mettupalayam Road
Coimbatore- 641043
Mon-Sat: 9am to 6 pm
Phone: 0422 2452020
Fax: 0422 2430394
E-mail: smmbscbe@sundarammotors.com

July 29, 2013

Mercedes-Benz India gives its employees the experience to travel aboard the Star

Getting quite nimble towards the employees, Mercedes Benz India had provided its Chakan manufacturing workforce the home pick up and drop bus facility. Vehicle’s fleet will lift the employees from their home in Pune and would drop them on their destination at evening.

Speaking on this novel employee initiative, Eberhard Kern Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “At Mercedes-Benz India we give a lot of importance to employee safety and well-being. Our commitment towards ensuring a safe, relaxing and comfortable journey for our employees to work has been reiterated with the introduction of new Mercedes-Benz low-floor city buses for their daily commute. These new low-floor Mercedes-Benz city buses have redefined the standards of city buses in terms of interiors, comfort, space and user friendliness and are extremely luxurious and comfortable and I am delighted that our valued colleagues will be using them to commute to work every day.”

Overall, Mercedes Benz is famous for its undoubted standard; the bus that is provided for the employee transportation is also not an ordinary one. Cushioned to give in the maximum number of comfort inside, multiple charging points, destination board, high cushioning and a powerful air conditioner are some of the tweaks that the German carmaker had mentioned to us. In addition, to support this whole initiative swiftly, superior air suspension technology had also been planted underneath the vehicle for added dose of comfort.

As we said not just an ordinary, the City Bus is the first metal of Mercedes Benz to be certified with bus body code certification in India. And the design of it is also sculpted in such a way that person with restricted mobility can get onboard without difficulty due to its unique low entry design.

June 11, 2013

Mercedes manages to get over 400 bookings for A Class

Mercedes A-Class that was launched in the Indian market on May 30th has now received over 400 confirmed bookings. According to a company statement, this is the highest booking number for any Mercedes car launched in Indian market till today.

Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India said that the car has managed to create a worldwide sensation and the wide appreciation gathered in India by the vehicle represents the power of the Indian youth who have raised to lead a global lifestyle and value the trendy , dynamic drive quality when it comes to the question of personal mobility.

The vehicle is based on the MFA architecture and comes with the price tag of Rs. 21,93,500 for the diesel version (A180 CDI Style) and Rs. 22,73,500 for the petrol version (A180 Sport).

The cheapest luxury car in India till the arrival of A Class was BMW X1 that was launched about three year ago. X1 comes with the price tag of Rs. 28.3 lakhs ex showroom price Mumbai. At the Mumbai launch of the vehicle, Kern said that the A Class will also be the one of the safest available cars with 11 drive assistance system and is one of the India’s most efficient car which can go up to 1,000 km in a full tank.

May 8, 2013

Mercedes-Benz Joins Hands With MTV India for the New A-Class Pulsate Drive

Mercedes-Benz India is ready to roll out its innovative A-Class hatchback series in the Indian market.

As per reports, the wholly owned arm of the German luxury automobile brand will introduce the vehicle in the nation’s premium vehicle zone by May 30, 2013.

In addition, the well known auto giant has inked a deal with MTV for an electrifying A-Class Pulsate competition, as part of its brand expansion drive for the shortly-to-be introduced model.

The costs of the forthcoming Mercedes-Benz hatchback series would be disclosed publicly on May 30, 2013, its launching day in the nation.

According to the regulations, one lucky champion of the exciting contest will bag an opportunity to enjoy a trip to Ibiza or will be taking home the innovative A-Class hatchback series vehicle.

The massive awards are likely to take exhilaration for the A-Class introduction to a completely different stage among the domestic vehicle buffs.

Mercedes-Benz India is aiming its forthcoming A-Class cars at the young domestic approach and recital oriented car buffs.

The German car manufacturer is defining its A-Class to be ‘The Pulse of a novel generation’ on its authorized internet site.

The premium hatchback seems outstanding on the initial trailers placed on the company’s internet site and is likely to turn into the firm’s next large volume dragger in the domestic luxury vehicle market.

Market professionals think that A-Class would turn out to be the firm’s affordable offering upon its entrance in the nation.

With the aim to take part in the A-Class Pulsate competition, one requires to place a picture of a bash with pals on the well known social networking site – Twitter. The party pics must be tweeted with a hashtag- #aclasspulsate, for a applicable access. The partaker can also share why he or she is the life of a social gathering on checking out the internet site – www.mtv.in.com/pulsate.

The shortly-to-be introduced Mercedes-Benz A-Class range is likely to be ns comprising petrol and diesel.

April 22, 2013

Mercedes-Benz eyeing double digit growth this year

Mercedes-Benz India is all set to attain a double digit growth during the existing year.

The above announcement has been made by the company’s chief executive officer (CEO) Mr. Eberhard Kern while interacting with the media people at the launch of their novel showroom in Navi Mumbai.

Mr. Kern stated that the last year (2012) had been a beneficial time for the company and that during the initial quarterly period of the subsisting year (2013), they attained a growth of around 5%.

This is something they anticipate to augment by a noteworthy amount during the second quarterly period of 2013, he also said.

The company’s CEO also stated that A-Class in both editions comprising petrol and diesel will be rolled out for the domestic market by the next 3 month period.

Mr. Kern also stated that the A-Class would be the first luxury hatchback in the domestic market and it will be attract young car buffs.

The India-spec A-Class has been accommodated for the domestic paths and will comprise changes to the suspension in addition to some other constituents.

The introduction of the A-Class will be preceded by the B-Class diesel.

Mercedes-Benz had introduced the B-Class petrol during October 2012, but had delayed the introduction of the B-Class diesel to permit them to completely confirm the engine to the criterion of diesel available in the nation.

He also stated that A-Class was their most crucial vehicle of the year however not their last for the country during this fiscal year.

Kern stated that the German car manufacturer proposes to roll out 13 new models internationally by the next seven years of which around ten of them will absolutely new cars without any forerunners. They will assess each and every vehicle when it is rolled out to witness if it is be workable for India at that time.

Mercedes-Benz India has forceful proposals for India and eyes to make double digit growth in the nation during the current fiscal year.

In addition, the company has also decided to augment the number of dealers crosswise the nation.

The auto giant will roll out its brand new luxury sports utility vehicle, GL, on 16 of the coming month in the national capital, and the introduction will be accompanied by the introduction of the B Class diesel option and the trendy A Class in both diesel and petrol options.