Mercedes-Benz India eyes double-digit growth in CY24 with 12 new launches

After recording its highest-ever annual sales in 2023, Mercedes-Benz India will continue its offensive game with a target of double-digit growth in volumes during 2024. The automaker plans to ride on the favourable change in consumer perception toward acquiring luxury cars with over 12 new launches this year. 

The German luxury carmaker, which is also the market leader in India’s luxury car market, will invest Rs 200 crore in India in 2024, taking its brand’s cumulative investment in the country to Rs 3,000 crore. The investment will go for capacity augmentation and digitalisation efforts. 

In 2023, Mercedes-Benz recorded its highest-ever annual sales volume of 17,408 units with a growth of 10% on a year-on-year basis. The company witnessed robust demand for sports utility vehicles, sedans, and electric vehicles.  

“Festival season was great. We saw an uptick and we were apprehensive about how December will continue. But in December also we saw our best sales. That gave us a strong momentum for 2024. So we aim for double-digit growth in 2024,” Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director Santosh Iyer told Autocar Professional. 

Of the new launches planned for 2024, a majority of those will be top-end vehicles. Three of them will be electric vehicles. Today, the company launched the new GLS 450 4MATIC, which has an ex-showroom price of Rs 1.32 crore. Iyer said the company’s average selling price has increased to Rs 88 lakh from 57 lakh over four years. 

“The full market is focused on entry luxury, whereas we are focused more on core and top-end luxury in terms of customer preferences. I think that is a very different maturity of the luxury car market consumption that we see which sets the stage for a better growth in the future as well,” Iyer added. 

The overall luxury car market is also estimated to have clocked the highest-ever sales with 47,000 units in 2023, which represents a growth of around 20% on year. Iyer had earlier told Autocar Professional that the luxury car market in India is likely to grow in double digits in this decade and the volume may double to over 80,000 to 90,000 units-per-annum sales by 2030. 

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz India also plans to open 20 workshops in cities including Jammu, Kannur, Kottayam, Udaipur, Amritsar, Agra, Valsad and Patna, and try and expand its presence in 10 new cities in 2024. These new facilities will be powered by green energy.  “Mercedes-Benz aims to have a service facility for every customer, with a drive time of less than 2 hours,” the company said.