Mercedes-Benz India posts its highest ever annual sales

Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India has posted another record year of sales. A barrage of new launches and expansion of its dealership network in the country helped the German luxury carmaker post a sharp 32.4% rise in sales at an estimated 13,506 units in 2015. It had sold 10,201 units in 2014, which was a 13% increase over the 9,003 units in 2013. It may be recollected that in 2015, the company had also clocked its best-ever Q2 performance (3,093 units), highest-ever half-year sales (6,659 units) and nine-month sales (10,709 units).

The carmaker benefitted immensely from its ‘15 in 15’ strategy under which it launched 15 new models and variants and opened 15 new dealerships in the year. This not only aided the company’s sales but also helped it regain the title of the top luxury carmaker in the country.

During the year, luxury sedans comprising the new C-class, E-class, S-class and the CLA-class remained key volume contributors, while the SUV portfolio comprising the GLA, M-Class and GL-Class grew strongly as well. The face-lifted A-class, introduced on December 8, was the last model launch for the year and the company ended the year with 83 dealerships, the largest for a luxury carmaker in India.

With this performance, Mercedes-Benz India is all set to dethrone Audi India as the country’s No. 1 luxury carmaker. In 2014, Audi India had sold 10,851 units compared to Mercedes-Benz India’s 10,201 units.  

Mercedes-Benz India’s strong performance in 2015 is a reflection of the parent company’s performance globally. The Stuttgart-based carmaker sold a total of 1,871,511 vehicles globally with a 13.4% YoY rise in sales, posting its fifth record year in a row. It also ended the year with its strongest December sales at 178,017 units, (+9.1%) and best quarterly sales at 495,159 units, (+8.8%).

Sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew last year by over 25% to 615,325 units. The biggest growth market globally was China, where the company launched more than 15 new or updated models and expanded the dealer network to approximately 500 dealerships last year.

Although Mercedes-Benz India finished 2015 on a strong note, it is likely to see slower sales growth in the first quarter of 2016, due to the ongoing ban on luxury diesel cars and SUVs in Delhi-NCR, which is among the largest luxury car markets in India. The Supreme Court has imposed a temporary ban on sale of diesel cars and SUVs with an engine capacity of more than 2,000cc till March 31, 2016 and Mercedes-Benz is among the most affected carmakers as all of its diesel models fall under the purview of the ban. 

Also read: 

- C-Class is Mercedes-Benz India’s highest-selling model in 2015

- Mercedes-Benz posts record global sales in 2015