The Hindu Business Line : New generation Mercedes E-class launched

Booming market
Petrol version, E280 to cost Rs 41.94 lakh, while the diesel one E280-CDI costs Rs 40.64 lakh.
Sales of the S-class has been on the rise with a 188 units selling from Jan to Oct this year.

Pune , Nov. 6

Luxury car manufacturer DaimlerChrysler on Monday announced the launch of new generation Mercedes-Benz E-class in India within five months of its global launch. Those with a penchant for hot wheels can look forward to buying the new car, whose predecessor sold over one million units, by the end of the month when the two lines — Classic and Elegance — rolls into dealer showrooms.

The company also announced it is on the look out for land to set up a new plant and consolidate operations and said it expects to begin work on the new project by the first quarter of next year. "We are looking at two locations in Pune and are looking for significantly more land than our existing 20-acre facility, keeping in mind future growth," Dr Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO of DaimlerChrysler, said.

E-class

The new generation E-class is being offered in petrol version, E280 for Rs 41.94 lakh while the diesel E280-CDI will sport a Rs 40.64 lakh price tag. The car will also be available as the E200 K, at Rs 35 lakh.

Talking to the press at the launch ceremony, Dr Aulbur said the company expects sales of the E-class to receive a fresh boost with the launch of the new car. India already has a 10,000-plus community of E-class owners and the company has already sold 705 units of the car in the first 10 months of the year, as against the 825 units sold last year.

The new car will also be available to customers looking for more power, frills and customisation in the E350 Avantgard trim line, in CBU form. "We expect significant numbers from this line," Dr Aulbur said, replying to a query on market for custom-built cars. "Almost 70 per cent of the CBU imports of such cars originate from Delhi and Mumbai," he said.

Good business

Sales of the company's premium offering, the S-class, has meanwhile, been on the rise with a 188 units selling from January to October this year, as against the 144 units sold last year. The new S-class, which was launched in India in August this year, sells at Rs 72 lakh.

Meanwhile, the company is also looking at promoting its M-class in the Indian market by next year, Dr Aulbur said. DaimlerChrysler also sold 35 units of its Actros trucks since its launch in June this year.

The company's component sourcing division, which forms part of the regional sourcing effort, is growing at 20 per cent CAGR and is likely to pick up fresh impetus with the company now inking new deals for various components, according to Dr Aulbur.

"The business has grown from the level of 6-10 million euros when we started off in 1998 to a 100 million euro business last year," Mr Suhas Kadlaskar, Director of Corporate Affairs and Finance, said. The company sources a range of forgings, sintered products, wiring harnesses, horns, radiators and exhaust pipes for its cars and commercial vehicles from vendors, and component manufacturers from North and South India.

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