2021 will be one of the most product intense years: Mercedes-Benz India

The luxury car maker says its third quarter sales are back at pre-Covid levels

Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz plans to launch around 10 models in 2021, which it said will be one of the most product-intense years.

The company said its third quarter sales are at pre-Covid levels. 

Mercedes-Benz India sold 5,007 units during January to September in 2020, against 9,915 during the same period last year. During the festive period of Navratri & Dussehra, it delivered a record 550 cars. The company said considering the challenges faced this year, the 2020 festive sales underlined the buoyant customer sentiment.

Mercedes-Benz claims a dominant market share of about 40 per cent in the luxury car industry.

Santosh Iyer, vice-president (sales and marketing), Mercedes-Benz India, said the company was not immune to the pandemic and that it saw contraction in sales in the second quarter. The company temporarily shut its manufacturing facility, which was reopened on May 6.

Sales gradually started recovering wherever markets unlocked and business stabilised. “Our January-November sales numbers are according to our expectations and we have seen month-on-month growth,” said Iyer, adding that the carmaker recovered by 25-30 per cent on an average month wise since June.

The company’s third quarter sales were at 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels and October-November sales indicate that the company has reached pre-Covid levels.

The luxury car segment was specifically impacted with zero sales in April and almost 85 per cent contraction in May.

He said the company had stuck to its product introduction plan for 2020 and launched 10 products round the year. There were some delays due to the pandemic. While it launched the EQC in 2020, the launch of the A-Class Limousine and GLA is planned in 2021. 

Iyer said he was cautiously optimistic about 2021 on the backdrop of new product line-ups. “We will have one of the most product-intense years in 2021,” said Iyer, adding that 2020 tested the company’s resilience and market expertise. 

The customer sentiment has been resurgent since Q3 and the company had a good festive period similar to last year’s levels.

 “At the same time, we are yet to completely overcome the challenges triggered by the crisis as the pandemic is not yet over and the situation is very dynamic,” said Iyer.

Mercedes-Benz India is the market leader in the luxury pre-owned (POC) business, he said. The company had sold more than 21,000 pre-owned cars till date. “Our POC business has grown by 20 per cent year-on-year and it outperforms the new car sales under the challenging circumstances,” said Iyer.

Another interesting aspect of the pre-owned car business is the contribution from online sales. The POC business got a boost with the launch of the company’s e-commerce business, which has seen good demand both from metro and non-metro markets, accounting to about 15 per cent of sales volume.

The company sold more than 350 pre-owned cars through its online store after the pandemic, and it expects this number to  grow in 2021.

The company’s manufacturing facilities in India cater to the domestic market and are not aimed at exports. The company added two new products to its local production portfolio, including the AMG GLC 43, which kick-started its AMG localisation.

“We also upped our investment in our manufacturing facility by Rs 400 crore to Rs 2,600 crore, underlining our commitment to the Indian market,” said Iyer.