Mercedes-Benz logs 50 per cent growth; plans to launch buses this year

BMW may make the best vehicles to drive and Audi cars can have the ideal blend of luxury and performance, but as far as India is concerned, the three-pointed star of Mercedes-Benz still goes further than any other luxury car brand.

Consider these: last year, Mercedes sold 2,500 cars, which is more than half of India's luxury car market of 4,500 units. This year, the company has sold 1,094 cars within the first three months, as against 690 cars sold during the same period last year, making an astounding growth rate of 50 per cent. And the company expects this to continue for the next decade.

''With the current developments, we are on a very good path and I am sure this path will continue for the next 5-10 years,'' says Mercedes Benz India MD and CEO Wilfried Aulbur. He was speaking on the occasion of the roll-out of the 20,000th Mercedes-Benz at the company's plant in Pune

He was especially enthusiastic about the response that the E-class has had in India. ''The first model to roll out from here way back in 1995 was the E-class and the 20,000th car rolled out today is also an E-class, marking the success story of the product in the market,'' said Aulbur. ''It is also the 10,000th E-class to be sold in India,'' he added. (See: Wilfried Aulbur interview at the Auto Expo)

However, the company is not restricting itself only to cars. It has already launched the Actros range of trucks to cater to mining applications since November last year, and managed to sell 220 units till date. Asked if the company will be looking at introducing more variants of trucks, Aulbur said, ''We are focussed towards catering to the premium segment, may it be trucks, buses or cars. We will definitely be looking at other applications in long-haulage and construction.''

He also spoke about competing with Volvo in the luxury bus category by the end of the current year, and said that they had a tie-up with Sutlej Motors for creation of the bus body, while Mercedes-Benz builds the bus chassis. The bus chassis will arrive as completely knocked down units (CKDs) and will be assembled at the new plant at Chakan.

Piyush Arora, director technical, member of board of management, Mercedes-Benz India, said that the company is looking at a total capacity of 12,500 units per annum, including passenger and commercial vehicles, at the upcoming manufacturing plant in Chakan. Capacity would be expanded if demand so dictated, he added.