 "Mercedes Benz accelerating to tier II, III towns")
German Luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz is expanding its footprint in the tier II and II towns to reach out to new customers.
The company clocks 55% of sales from smaller towns compared to composite 45% of sales coming from the metros of Delhi and Mumbai.
“The key different between India and some other developing markets is that the smaller towns here account for significant sales numbers for luxury cars,” Mercedes Benz MD & CEO Eberhard Kern said here today.
This year, the company plans to expand its dealerships in Raipur, Pune and Bhubneshwar.
Three years back, Delhi and Mumbai accounted for almost 70% of the Mercedes sales, which now stands at 45% owing to the strategic unveiling of new dealerships in smaller cities.
Kern was in Lucknow to launch the refurbished Mercedes Benz dealership ‘Smart Hoop’ spread over 23,000 sq ft backed by additional service centre area of 25,000 sq ft.
Currently, Mercedes has 57 touch points in 32 cities, which represents the widest reach amongst all luxury car brands in India.
He said while the overall domestic car market was down by 7%, the luxury car segment was growing by 15%. “Mercedes has been growing at a much better rate of over 30%,” he informed.
This year, the company has launched 7 new models and the 8th model is expected in another 2 weeks. In 2012, Mercedes sold 7,138 vehicles in India and this year has clocked over 6,000 units.
Kern said the company was investing Rs 250 crore in its Pune plant to double the capacity to 20,000 units annually by February 2014.
The company clocks 55% of sales from smaller towns compared to composite 45% of sales coming from the metros of Delhi and Mumbai.
“The key different between India and some other developing markets is that the smaller towns here account for significant sales numbers for luxury cars,” Mercedes Benz MD & CEO Eberhard Kern said here today.
This year, the company plans to expand its dealerships in Raipur, Pune and Bhubneshwar.
Three years back, Delhi and Mumbai accounted for almost 70% of the Mercedes sales, which now stands at 45% owing to the strategic unveiling of new dealerships in smaller cities.
Kern was in Lucknow to launch the refurbished Mercedes Benz dealership ‘Smart Hoop’ spread over 23,000 sq ft backed by additional service centre area of 25,000 sq ft.
Currently, Mercedes has 57 touch points in 32 cities, which represents the widest reach amongst all luxury car brands in India.
He said while the overall domestic car market was down by 7%, the luxury car segment was growing by 15%. “Mercedes has been growing at a much better rate of over 30%,” he informed.
This year, the company has launched 7 new models and the 8th model is expected in another 2 weeks. In 2012, Mercedes sold 7,138 vehicles in India and this year has clocked over 6,000 units.
Kern said the company was investing Rs 250 crore in its Pune plant to double the capacity to 20,000 units annually by February 2014.