Skip to main content

Mercedes-Benz to launch 15 new models in 2015

Mercedes-Benz India, which clocked record sales of 10,201 cars in 2014, hasn’t taken its foot of the gas and, in fact, has kicked of the New Year by announcing ambitious plans for 2015 under its ’15 in 15’ strategy. 
 
This aggressive product offensive will see Mercedes launch 15 new models in 2015 to be sold through an expanded dealer network which includes 15 new dealers. The German luxury carmaker has dubbed 2015 as the company’s  ‘Live the Best’ year, which will focus on offering the best products and services. 


Mercedes-Benz India has announced that it will focus on five core pillars in 2015 in its bid to be the top brand in India’s hotly contested luxury car market. 
 
Products
The first core area will be of course be the product line-up. The CLA-class compact luxury sedan is the first model to be launched by Mercedes-Benz India, which will go head on with its arch rival, the Audi A3. The entire model line-up for the year isn’t clear as yet, but what’s coming for certain are different variants of the C-class, the facelifted B-class and niche models like the E 400 Cabriolet or the convertible version of the facelifted E-class. The Viano van, targeted at the hospitality and tourist industry, is also rumoured to be coming, though Mercedes is understood to be struggling with the final price of the car. The fabulous AMG GT is likely to top off a very exciting 2015 for the company. 
 
Network expansion
Expanding the dealer base, especially into smaller cities, including tier-three towns is going to be another focus area for Mercedes-Benz India. The plan is to open 15 all-new dealerships taking the company’s all-India strength to 83 dealerships. In addition, several AMG Performance Centres will also be launched as part of this expansion to give a wider footprint to Mercedes’ high-performance brand. 2015 will also see Mercedes getting aggressive in the used car market with Mercedes-Benz Certified, a new pre-owned car division that was launced in December 2014. 
 
Brand Experiences
Several new initiatives will be kicked off as part of Mercedes-Benz India’s focus on wooing existing and new customers. With its ‘Luxe Drive’ programme, the company will offer experiences that blend fashion, gourmet food and some exciting driving activities. The company says that this is a first-of-a-kind initiative to cement Mercedes as a brand that’s associated with fine living. 
 
Towards the more down-to-earth side of the ownership spectrum, Mercedes-Benz India will be offering some sweet deals to keep cost of ownership in check. A special interest rate of just 9.99 percent is being offered for a loan on any of Mercedes’ new compact range of cars. Also, a special maintenence package of Rs 1.99 per km for the first 20,000km, which covers all costs, is being offered to owners of compact Mercs. The company wants to nix the perception that its cars are exorbitant to maintain. 
 
CSR Activities
A focus on the environment and safety is being given top priority by Mercedes-Benz in 2015. A plan to expand the solar power in its Chakan plant is underway and there will be several initiatives on road safety that will be kicked off as well.
 
Operations
Mercedes-Benz India’s plant in Chakan has a capacity of 20,000, but the operations were slowed because of certain stalled clearances which, according to company sources, have been given swiftly by the new Maharashtra government. This will allow the company to increase CKD operations, and hence a greater number of models will be locally assembled. This could lower prices of certain models too, which are currently being heavily taxed as CBUs. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Lamborghini Urus India review, test drive

             On first introduction, it’s a recipe for intimidation. It’s claimed to be the fastest SUV in the world (0-100kph in 3.6sec and a top speed of 305kph puts it nearly in supercar territory), and it’s made by Lamborghini – creator of some of the most savage vehicles on the market. Things – as with any Lamborghini, for that matter – would be a lot less daunting if we were driving on a smooth European country road, a wide motorway, or even a race track. But today we’re driving the Urus on a narrow  ghat  road, as well as through some heavy Pune traffic. Perhaps the intention was to demonstrate that this is the first Lamborghini ever to go on sale in India that truly works in our conditions – but still, I doubt they accounted for rush hour. It’s requisitely mad to look at, employing as many ‘sporty’ design tropes to an SUV body style as possible – the only thing missing is a massive wing on the back; and somehow, it works. It’s ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Skoda Vision RS concept previews new hatchback

Skoda has set the stage for its forthcoming Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus rival with the Vision RS, a concept car that features a performance plug-in hybrid (PHEV) powertrain. Under the sporty details and concept flourishes, the Vision RS bears a close resemblance to the Rapid hatchback that will be introduced next year. The fact that it has been previewed in vRS form, complete with 245hp PHEV powertrain, shows how much further upmarket the new Rapid will go compared with the current value-led model. Skoda product marketing chief Björn Kroll said: “The current Rapid is too low-market. For this one, we have tried to balance it out.” Skoda will drop the slow-selling liftback version and concentrate on the Spaceback hatch for the new Rapid. At 4,356mm, the concept is just over 50mm longer than the current Rapid, and it has a 440-litre boot that's up by 25 litres. The concept retains some of the current Rapid’s des...
Post a Comment
Read more

What to avoid during a car service

                   When it comes to getting their cars serviced at authorised outlets, owners usually go the whole hog. They want their cars coming out of service centres looking brand new, and are willing to pay for it. But do service centres take undue advantage of this? Yes, they do. Servicing may involve changing certain parts and oils after a set interval, but service centres will almost always try to plug in a few extras using technical jargon that a layman may not really understand. Certain processes are completely unnecessary, and customers end up paying extra as they are not aware of what's important and what's not. Also, most of the times, the service associate will throw you a hard sales pitch, and it's not always done with your best interests in mind. So what exactly are the things you don’t really need and should avoid?  Engine flushing Flushing an engine simply means cleaning the impure oil and gunk that ...
Post a Comment
Read more