The sales of luxury car maker Mercedes Benz have dwindled in Punjab and Chandigarh this year, primarily due to short supply.
According to the data last year (Jan-December 2008), Mercedes Benz sold around 250-300 cars in Punjab and Chandigarh, while this year, it sold about 200 cars in Punjab.
In an interaction with Business Standard, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd Director (Sales & Marketing) Debashis Mitra said, “Our sales have been affected in Punjab and Chandigarh, mainly because of non-availability of cars. But we expect that in the near future it will pick up.”
It is worth noting that Punjab and Chandigarh contribute 10 per of the total sales of Mercedes cars in India.
He added, “Annually, the company reviews performance of dealers and on that basis our earlier association with Tai Pan Traders Pvt Ltd, (having two dealership at Ludhiana and Chandigarh) was terminated. We have appointed new dealer Joshi Autozone for Chandigarh and Jalandhar to take care of our sales. Since new dealership at these location is in place we expects surge in sales.”
Besides Punjab, the company has terminated its association with earlier dealers in Gujarat, Mumbai and Pune.
Punjab is one of the important market for the company and figures among its top five markets. According to the officials, Ludhiana has responded well to the Mercedes sales.
The city, also called the Manchester of India, figures among the cities having high density of Mercedes. The company has recently opened its new dealership in Jalandhar, which clearly indicates that the company considers Punjab as one of its important markets.
Further, it also formally inaugurated its new state-of-the-art luxury dealership at Joshi Autozone Pvt Ltd in Chandigarh.
He claimed that the company has an extensive network with presence across 22 cities represented by more than 43 touch points across India with (dealerships- 12, Showrooms- 16, Show windows- 2, Authorized Service centers- 10, Workshops- 14, Authorized Service Station- 1) which is the largest as compared to any luxury player in India. Further he added that as committed, Mercedes-Benz India along with its network partners, has already crossed the earlier investment plan of Rs. 150 crores in network expansion and upgradation for 2009 – 2010.
