New Delhi :
Eyeing a larger share in the premium luxury segment, German car maker Mercedes-Benz on Thursday rolled out its new multi-purpose vehicle V-Class Elite. The V-Class Elite, an upgraded version of V-Class Expression and V-Class Exclusive would be built in Spain and sold in domestic market, Company Managing Director and CEO, Martin Schwenk said.
After unveiling the car here, Schwenk said the luxury MPV is priced at Rs 1.10 crore (ex-showroom India) and would be sold along with V-Class product range V-Class Expression at Rs 68.40 lakh (ex-showroom India) and V-Class Exclusive at Rs 81.90 lakh (ex-showroom India). The company besides launching luxury MPV would also look at unveiling new product every month, he said.
Mercedes-Benz holds about 40 per cent market share in the luxury market segment, he said. “We will be continuing our product offensive in Q4 as well, and we strive to launch a product every month, going forward into the next year”, he told reporters. To a query, he said the company was going ahead with its proposal to launch ‘a new product every month’ despite the transition happening from BSIV to BSVI emission norms.
Declining to reveal any target figures for Mercedes-Benz India, he said, “we are also very satisfied with our sales performance, particularly during the festive period and have witnessed early signs of recovery”. Asked whether the company would stop producing BSIV norms automobiles at its factory in India from January 1 2020, he said, “Definitely, from January it will be..”
Equipped with a host of features including seats with massaging function, climate control, remote controlled door, 15 speaker surround sound system, the V-Class Elite has agility control suspension system, he said. The V-Class Elite will be available in a six-seater longer-wheel base variant and complaint to BSVI norms, he said.
“We are glad to continue our product offensive with the launch of yet another unique and versatile product for our discerning customers. The V-Class launched this year pioneered the luxury MPV segment and has witnessed much success”, he said. To a query, he said the company’s V-Class sold in India was in “triple digits” in the country, but declined to reveal exact figures.
He said the V-Class Elite was aimed at large families, sports enthusiasts, business owners. “We are confident that V-Class Elite as a one of its kind product in India will create new benchmarks for luxury travel in the country and expand the segment”, he said. Mercedes-Benz India witnessed a fall of 16 per cent to 9,915 units in the January-September period, as against 11,789 units in the first nine months of 2018. The company, however, said it has already crossed 10,000 units in the first week of October and expects sales to rise slightly in the full year.
Recently, the German premium car maker Mercedes-Benz on Saturday announced opening of booking for its all-new SUV GLE, which is expected to be launched in India early next year. The company in a statement also claimed it delivered 600 cars to customers across markets on Dhanteras, which is considered auspicious for buying gold, silver and other valuables and mainly celebrated in Northern and Southern India.
Owing to an unprecedented demand for the GLE, Mercedes-Benz has already sold out its current stock of this SUV three months ahead of the plan and, therefore, now has opened the booking for its upcoming refreshed version, the company said. The all-new GLE SUV is expected to be launched in the domestic market before the next edition of the Auto Expo in 2020, it added.
