The luxury car space in the Indian automobile space seems to be getting little more competitive as the global luxury car makers coming up with more plans to introduce newer models in the market. Now it has been reported that the German luxury car maker Mercedes Benz would unveil its compact range in the Indian market by the end of 2012.
The reports quoted Mercedes Benz India MD and CEO Peter Honegg as saying that the cars with left-hand-drive option would be introduced globally later this year in Europe and in India by 2012-end. He was quoted as saying "Initially, cars with Left Hand Drive option, manufactured at our facilities in Germany and Hungary, will be introduced in Europe later this year. We plan to bring them to India by 2012-13 as Completely Knocked Down (CKD) units." He declined to state its price. "Right now we don't have the facility to manufacture the compact class at our Chakan facility near Pune," he said.
The reports also stated that at present, Mercedes Benz India manufactures the C, S and E class at their facility in Chakan near Pune. On the outlook for this year, he said they would clock over 7,000 units in sales compared to last year's 5,800 units. "Last year we sold 5,800 cars. This year we expect to Cross 7,000 units. During January-June (2011) we sold 3,800 units," he said. He also mentioned that the company has invested Rs 400 crore to ramp up the paint shop at their Chakan plant, which has a capacity of 20,000 units. "Our plant with two shift operations has a capacity of 10,000 units. By next year,it should reach 20,000 and in coming years capacity will reach 40,000 units."
It was also reported that the company has set a target of about 130-140 Actros buses to be sold this year compared to 70 last year. He said financing options for Mercedes Benz buses would also be covered later this year under the parent company's financial services division. He mentioned that there are 30 dealers all over India and would seek to strengthen their presence in cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.
