Mercedes-Benz to bring re-invented luxury brand Maybach in India

Mercedes-Benz is set to bring in its new sub-brand Maybach into India in later this month. The launch of the Mercedes-Maybach S600 on September 25 marks the entry of both the re-invented brand as well as the biggest engine in the Mercedes-Benz car portfolio into this very nascent uber-luxury car market.

Fitted with a 6000 cc, V12 engine, the Mercedes-Maybach S600 made its global debut less than a year ago with sales beginning in early 2015. Its launch into India will provide a glorious parting gift to outgoing Mercedes Benz India (MBI) chief Eberhard Kern.

He is credited with having swung the flagging sales of the German luxury car-maker back to a high growth path in the Indian context, overseeing the doubling of sales growth during the 2012-15 period. Kern is set to move to a new role in Europe and will hand over the MBI mantle to Roland Folger on October 1.

Earlier, the Maybach was a separate car brand, built on an independent platform in the Daimler portfolio, and was launched in India around 2004 at an ex-showroom price tag of around ₹5.6 crore. (The price of the 2015 version is still closely guarded).

The independent platform has since been discontinued and the Maybach has emerged in an all new avatar; built as it is on the S-Class platform, it is now a sub-brand of Mercedes-Benz. Globally, it is available on the S500 (V8, 5000 cc engine) and the higher S600.

The German luxury carmaker’s has begun local production of both petrol and diesel variants of the CLA, making India the only market outside of Europe to make the compact sedan locally.

Launched into India as a completely built unit this April, local production will help shave 3-5 per cent off the price of the CLA. After local production of the diesel variant of the compact SUV GLA began in June, this is the second in MBI’s new generation car portfolio to be made in India. Simultaneously, local production of the petrol GLA 200 Sport has also begun.

Both the CLA and the GLA are key products that have played a significant role in boosting MBI’s sales numbers here, and building them at Chakan will reduce the waiting period considerably.

“The CLA is already a winning product in our portfolio. It has been rapidly acquiring new customers to the brand and replicating its global success in India as well. We are extremely satisfied with our CLA strategy, which has contributed majorly to our NGC growth and redefined the segment completely,” Kern said.