Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India today said it has started assembling its sports utility vehicle M-Class at its Chakan facility near Pune, making it cheaper by over Rs 10 lakh in the country.
The company also inaugurated its paint shop constructed inside the facility.
"The M-Class 250 CDI is the first M-Class ever to be offered from a local production outside Mercedes-Benz's SUV plant in Tuscaloosa, USA. India becomes the 'first' market in the world to enjoy this elite status," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Peter Honegg said in a statement.
The company has priced the locally assembled M-Class at Rs 46.50 lakh for ex-showroom, Delhi.
The CBU M-Class was priced at Rs 56.9 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).
The luxury SUV is the fastest growing segment in the Indian automotive industry and the new M-Class is the leader in its category, he added.
"The benefits of local production have been realised in the form of aggressive pricing, easier production availability and flexible production scheduling -- each of these will benefit the discerning customers and ensure greater appeal of the M-Class in the high growth luxury SUV segment," Honegg said.
Mercedes-Benz India also announced the start of operations of its paint shop located within its Chakan plant.
"The new Paint Shop at Mercedes-Benz India Chakan facility now positions us as a global benchmark within Mercedes-Benz world. This underscores our bullish outlook for Indian market and we look forward to introducing more locally produced vehicles for the discerning Indian customers," Mercedes-Benz India Director (Technical) Piyush Arora said.
The paint shop has an annual capacity of 20,000 units, which is expandable up to 40,000 units annually.