Mercedes-Benz, India’s top automaker in the luxury segment, plans to double its electric vehicle portfolio in the country. The German auto giant said four electric vehicles will hit Indian roads in the next 12 months. These will be part of the ten new models the automaker has promised to launch in India this year. Mercedes already sells four electric vehicles in India. These include the EQC, EQS and EQS AMG, as well as the EQB electric SUV introduced last year. The automaker wants to derive a quarter of its sales in India from its electric vehicles within the next four years.
India is currently the German automaker’s fifth-largest overseas market. Mercedes EVs contribute about 1,000 vehicles a year, or about 3% of its total sales in the country. The automaker now plans to boost its EV penetration in India to further boost sales. Matthias Luehrs, head of Mercedes-Benz overseas, said: “We are very pleased with the development of our EV (Electric Vehicle) in the Indian market, which includes models such as EQS and EQB. We will have four more vehicles coming in. India has the potential to become Mercedes’ fourth-largest market within the next two years, Luers said.
In 2022, Mercedes delivered 15,822 vehicles to customers across the country, a sales increase of more than 40%. That was better than the German auto giant’s previous best sales of 15,583 in 2018. In 2021, Mercedes has sold 11,242 vehicles.
As of now, Mercedes-Benz has not revealed any details about the four electric vehicles that will hit Indian shores next March. Santosh Iyer, managing director and chief executive officer, Mercedes-Benz India, said some of them will arrive via the CBU route or will be assembled at its local manufacturing plant in Chakan, near Pune, Maharashtra. .
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Leuhrs also refrained from commenting on high taxes on imported electric vehicles in India, but suggested lower taxes would be welcomed by the German auto giant. He said, “Obviously, if you have a market with less taxation, then you’re going to sell more cars. It’s very obvious. It’s in America. It’s in Europe, it’s in China. So, obviously, If you have more taxes, the niche gets smaller.”
Apart from the upcoming four EVs, Mercedes is also expected to head to India this year with the new GLC SUV as well as the GT63 AMG e-Performance.
First published date: March 24, 2023 at 08:32 AM CST
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