Till a couple of years ago, not too many people thought Mercedes-Benz could stage a comeback when it was elbowed out of the luxury brand arena by fellow German brands, BMW and Audi.

On Thursday, the company announced that it had sold 6,659 units in the January-June period, a 41 per cent jump from the same period last year. In the process, it was closing in rapidly on its total sales volumes of 2012 (7,138 units) in the first six months of 2015 itself.

According to Mercedes-Benz, this good showing reflects high customer acceptance of the entire portfolio comprising sedans, SUVs and the AMG performance cars. As the C-Class and the E-Class luxury sedans continue to remain on top of customer preference, the SUVs, especially the M-Class continues to grow significantly followed by the larger GL-Class.

The addition of the GLA 200 CDI to the local production portfolio is expected to drive the demand of this SUV even further while reducing the waiting period. While six products have been launched in the first half of this calendar, nine more will follow in the second half.

Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, said, “This performance firmly underlines the acceptance of our customer focused approach. The Mercedes-Benz brand remains distinct in terms of offering continuous product innovations, extending an enriching service experience and strengthening our extensive network footprint.”

Kern has constantly maintained that his company is not in the numbers game and would much rather focus on building a strong base in India. Parent, Daimler AG, is equally bullish on the prospects for its buses and trucks where it has a facility near Chennai. India has already been identified as one of its most important markets for this decade and Mercedes is clearly keen to keep the scoreboard ticking.

Related Topics