The Hindu Business Line : DaimlerChrysler lines up new models for Indian roads

MAYBACH, an offering from the DaimlerChrysler, has created an atmosphere of excitement around itself since the beginning of the current calendar year.

Variants from the C Class of Mercedes Benz, which includes the CLK (coupe in the C Class segment) and SLK (small roadster that has been launched in Germany this year) is expected to make its presence on the Indian roads by the end of the current calendar year.

Talking to presspersons, Mr Hans Michael Huber, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of DaimlerChrysler India Ltd, said other than these offerings, variants in the M Class, luxury coaches and heavy duty trucks in the commercial vehicle segment would also be making its way into the Indian market at a later date.

"It is the policy of the parent company to study the respective market and look out for offerings that can be catered to and Volvo has shown that people would pay a premium for comfort. So now we are looking at the possibility of bringing in the luxury coaches," he said.

Currently, the heavy-duty trucks are being tested at the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), Pune and is expected to be homologated within a couple of months, he said.

Mr Huber who was present at the launch of the new E 270 CDI (common-rail direct injection engines), said with this launch, the earlier version, E 220 CDI has already been phased out.

The production of the E 220 CDI had been completely stopped at its Pune facility about six weeks ago and E 270 CDI was being produced in its place.

Priced at Rs 35.46 lakh, the target for the vehicle sales is about 350 for the current calendar year.

He said the target for the entire E class range, which includes the E 240, E200K and E 270 CDI was 800 vehicles for the current calendar year of which about 270 vehicles had hit the roads since the beginning of 2004. He noted that out of the 270 vehicles that had been sold in the E Class segment, 90 came in from the phased out E 220 CDI version.

He, however, noted that spare parts for the E 220 CDI would be available at any point of time.

"Last year was the year of C Class and this year it is head-on-head with the E Class and we have been witnessing good sales in the E class segment this year," he said. The C Class target for the year is 825 vehicles of which about 300 had already been sold. Mr Huber, commenting on the performance of the E Class in the domestic market said it had sold about 660 units during 2003 and had contributed almost a third of the total volume sales for the year.

He noted that 30 per cent of the sales volume came in from New Delhi and about 25 per cent from Mumbai. The rest of the major sales came in from Chennai, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Pune, Ludhiana and Chandigarh, he added.