The country’s leading luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India is confident of getting back to strong growth curve starting with an increase in sales in the first quarter of this calendar year.

“The year 2017 has started off well for us after the effects of demonetisation. The first two months of 2017 have been good and with record sales in February. We expect March also to be better. Overall, we expect a successful Q1 with sales higher than Q1 of 2016,” Michael Jopp, Vice-President – Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India, told BusinessLine here.

Mercedes-Benz ended 2016 with a two per cent fall in sales at 13,231 units. This was against the double-digit growth it projected during the beginning of 2016. However, it maintained the Number One position with a wide a lead in sales over its German rivals.

For 2017 too, it has projected a double-digit growth in sales, supported by a dozen new launches and other service-related initiatives. The company also expects improvements in overall sentiments with the implementation of GST.

Jopp said the company was seeing growth across four key segments of its portfolio – new generation cars , sedans, SUVs and performance models.

“With the announcement of note ban, we saw double-digit decline in November sales. However, the recovery in sales started in December and now with improved sentiments, business is back to normal for us,” he said.

The company has clocked about 500 bookings for the new E-class (priced between ₹58 lakh and ₹71 lakh ex-showroom, Chennai) within a week of its launch. “This is the highest-ever booking rate for any Mercedes-Benz model in India,” he stated.

The company is seeing a change in mix of its sales. Traditionally E-class sedans used to account for little over a third of its volumes. But the share has come down to 20 per cent now. This is due to the increasing interest in SUVs the company launched in recent times. SUVs now make up about 40 per cent of its sales volumes.

Also, the company has also reaped success in its compact models, which attract young and new customers. These cars account for a fourth of sales.

Jopp stated that growth in its sales and market share were also driven by its lower total cost of ownership promise. In 2016, Merc had the lowest maintenance cost for luxury brands in India, he said.

In 2017, the company will focus on more service-related initiatives and overhaul of retailing experience at its showrooms to support its growth plans.

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