 "No revision in prices for now: Mercedes Benz")
Confessing to the rupee weakening being a cause for concern, Eberhard H Kern, managing director and CEO, Mercedes Benz India said on Tuesday that for now the luxury car maker is not revising its prices.
"We follow a long-term hedging strategy. Hence, in short term, we are not thinking of revising prices since there is no immediate impact due to rupee weakening against dollar. However, we will have to re-look at our pricing if it stays at this level," said Kern on the sidelines of the launch of new E-Class in Ahmedabad.
The Indian rupee have been falling by over 10% since last one month to an all-time low of Rs 60 against US dollar.
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Kern agreed to the fact that there were negative sentiments among customers due to inflation. "The market is not doing well this year. Overall, the automobile market will be down by 10-12%. However, luxury segment among cars is doing better," he added.
In 2012, the company sold 7138 units even as it expects double digit growth over the same for 2013. So far, for Mercedes Benz India, the first half of 2013 has been good. According to Kern, the company clocked a growth of 16% for first six months of 2013. "We expect double digit growth for the entire of 2013," he said.
Talking about the Gujarat launch of Mercedes Benz new E-Class, Kern said, "Historically Gujarat and Ahmedabad in particular, have been strong markets for Mercedes Benz cars. We have seen a steady rise in our customer base in Gujarat and the brand has been very well represented by Benchmark Cars. We expect Gujarat's contribution to Mercedes Benz sales to increase in the coming years as we expand to newer markets in the state."
For Gujarat, Benchmark Cars has set a target of 710 units for the year 2013, up by 35% from last year.
Meanwhile, Mercedes Benz India is investing further Rs 250 crore at its manufacturing facility at Chakan in Pune for capacity expansion, said Kern.