India 15 November 2016: Mercedes-Benz India has the largest ‘Made in India’ portfolio in the luxury car segment with CKD GLC being the 9th product added to the local production
Mercedes-Benz’s CKD GLC is the 9th locally produced car, and with this, the company has the largest ‘Made in India’ portfolio in the luxury car segment. The SUV segment has grown exponentially in India, the year 2015 saw the growth reaching to 100% while this year till Q3, the SUV segment has grown by almost 45%. Mercedes-Benz has seen an interesting line up of SUV launches this year with CKD GLC being launched within four months of its global debut.
Mercedes-Benz has an envious line-up of SUVs such as GLA, GLC, GLE, GLS, G-Class and GLE 450 AMG Coupe, the entire segment has a considerable amount of liking among young and women. The percentage of women drivers buying Mercedes-Benz SUVs have risen by 12-15% in the last 4-5 years. GLC has been of the highest selling Mercedes-Benz SUVs across the globe. With the local production of CKD GLC now, Mercedes-Benz India will have higher flexibility in production and reduction in waiting period. With Christmas and New Year around two months away, the company is well-equipped to meet the demand for the GLC during the festive season.
The CKD GLC has launched two variants, they are GLC 220 d 4MATIC Style priced at Rs. 47.90 lakhs; the GLC 220 d 4MATIC Sport priced at Rs.51.50 lakhs and the GLC 300 4MATIC Sport priced at Rs. 51.90 lakhs (these are ex-showroom Delhi prices)
About Mercedes-Benz India:
Established in 1994, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. pioneered the luxury car market in India and boasts of more than 130 years of cutting edge innovation in the luxury automobile industry globally. Set up in 2009, Mercedes-Benz India’s world class production facility is spread over 100 acres in Chakan near Pune. Since June 2015, Mercedes-Benz India also commenced production from its new expanded production facility located in the same premises. The production facility now carries an investment of INR 1000+ crores and has the largest installed production capacity for any luxury car maker in India.
Mercedes-Benz India product portfolio comprises the locally produced Mercedes Maybach S 500, S-Class, E-Class, C-Class, CLA luxury sedans and the GLA, GLE and the GLS luxury SUVs. The CKD GLC is the 9th product added to Mercedes-Benz’s local production portfolio. Completely Built imported cars portfolio includes the A-Class, B-Class, CLS, E-Class Cabriolet, S-Class Coupé, GLC and the S 600 Guard a range of other Guard vehicles etc. The product portfolio also comprises the iconic off-roader Mercedes-AMG G 63 as well as a wide range of other Mercedes-AMG performance cars like the AMG CLA 45, AMG C 63 S, AMG S 63 Coupe, AMG GL 63, AMG S 63, AMG GLA 45, GLE 450 AMG Coupe, AMG GT S sports car and the AMG SLC 43. Given Mercedes-Benz’s continuous success in India across myriad spectrum of sales, network, operations, services, finance, etc. 2016 will be the cornerstone to inculcate the spirit of winning despite emerging market challenges.
‘Winning with Mercedes-Benz’ philosophy is also derived from the unrivalled success created by the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 team in the highly competitive Formula 1 in the past years. In 2016, Mercedes-Benz will initiate a range of innovative customer oriented initiatives which are ‘winning’ in nature and will further underline the brand’s strong customer centric approach. In 2016, Mercedes-Benz began its ‘winning’ motto with the launch of the fascinating GLE 450 AMG Coupe, as the first product of the year. This was followed up with the introduction of the Mercedes-Maybach S600 Guard which is the costliest product from Mercedes-Benz India fleet, yet. Mercedes-Benz also introduced the S400 flagship sedan and also the luxurious SUV GLS 350 d. The quintessential SUV that strengthens the SUV portfolio of Mercedes-Benz is the GLC and this was launched in June. The sixth launch of the year, AMG SLC 43 got launched in India nearly after four months of its international debut with the 43 nomenclature for the first time in India.
The seventh launch is the petrol variant of the highest selling SUV, GLE 400 4MATIC. The versatile GLS 400 4MATIC with a petrol variant becomes the eighth launch of the year. The GLA 220 d 4MATIC ‘Activity Edition’ with 4MATIC four-wheel drivetrain becomes the 9th launch for 2016.
The open top luxury motoring has been redefined by two fascinating products without a predecessor in India, these are C-Class Cabriolet and the S-Class Cabriolet, the 10th and the 11th launches respectively.
Underlining the service excellence achieved in India, the company has also been ranked number one in the prestigious J.D. Power Customer Service Index 2015, among all the luxury brands for the second year in a row. Mercedes-Benz India also registered a historic 32% year-on-year growth by selling 13502 units in the Jan–December 2015 period and became the No. 1 luxury car brand in terms of sales volumes. Mercedes-Benz scripted historic sales for the 2015-16 Fiscal Year, selling 13,558 units between April 2015 and March 2016. The company has maintained steady sales growth by selling 9,924 units during January-September period. The brand has won as many as 30 prestigious automotive awards conferred by different media houses across India, the highest won by any luxury automotive brand in India this year.
Mercedes-Benz launched one-of-its kind, innovative service programme, ‘My Mercedes-My Service’. With the launch of this programme, Mercedes-Benz aims to completely redefine the after-sales experience by digitizing service process and create an unparalleled benchmark in the luxury car service do-main. ‘My Mercedes-My Service’ programme comprises industry first initiatives like ‘Digital Service Drive’, ‘Premier Express Service’ and innovative ‘Service Products’.