With E-Class launch, Mercedes Benz expects sedan share to rise to 50% of total sales

Mercedes-Benz had earlier revealed that the sixth-generation E-Class LWB will be available in India in the second half of this year

Mercedes-Benz India, which has received a significant contribution from luxury Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) owing to new rollouts, is now training its guns on the sedan segment.  The German luxury carmaker currently derives 55 percent of its total sales from luxury SUVs due to multiple rollouts across price points like GLC, GLA, GLE, GLS, etc.

However, a senior company official affirmed that its upcoming E-Class Long Wheel Base (LWB) model can actually swing the sedan’s contribution to half of its total sales by the year-end.

“At the moment, 55 percent share is SUV and 45 percent is sedan. So those percentages change, and a lot has to do with the product itself. When we lunched the GLC, the sedans were doing well. Then the GLCs came, and now the SUVs are 55 percent of total sales. But when the E class comes, maybe it comes back to 50-50 but at this stage, yes, SUVs are the biggest contributors, Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interaction.

Mercedes-Benz had earlier revealed that the sixth-generation E-Class LWB will be available in India in the second half of this year. Once launched, it will be taking on the just-launched BMW 5 Series LWB and soon-to-be-launched Audi A6. Estimated to be priced upward of Rs 80 lakh (ex-showroom), the luxury saloon will be available in both petrol and diesel options.

“When the new E class comes, the game changes, because there is no better car than the E class in that segment. Of course, S-Class is the best car in the world. Then again, we lead in that segment, but E Class is very close, and also from a volume perspective, it is big because it's right there in the core luxury segment,” added Iyer.

Meanwhile, India’s largest luxury carmaker launched two top-end vehicles-Mercedes-AMG GLC 43 4MATIC Coupé and CLE 300 Cabriolet AMG and will be introducing EQS Maybach SUV in India on September 5. The company will be launching 12 models this year and expects a double-digit growth this year.

Iyer stated that the recently-launched EQA (e-SUV), priced at Rs 66 lakh (ex-showroom) met with an exceptional response.

Without sharing any numbers, he noted, “We are quite happy with the EQA response and can see the share growing steadily. The sheer fact that now we are coming up with an EV in the Maybach segment (EQS) shows how we want to actually cater to the entire price spectrum.” However, he clarified that the company has no immediate plans to assemble this model.

Iyer also stated that the contribution of EVs, which was 2-5 percent last year, has doubled further to 5 percent. The carmaker anticipates 25 percent of its total sales to be derived from Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) in the next three to four years.

However, Iyer clarified that the pace of market transition is based on government policies, customer adoption and its product launches. “We will continue to invest, and introduce new products, but the rate of adoption is based on the market factors as well. Frankly, there is no (alternate) option to zero emission mobility. If the government is clear, and the consumers have limited choice but to shift, then the acceleration can be faster.”

Need for Policy continuity and FTA

Meanwhile, Mercedes Benz reiterated that it is looking for policy continuity on EVs for making more battery-driven vehicles.

“If there is a long-term commitment on the 5 percent GST from the government, it makes the investments better. That is because EV is an expensive technology and therefore a long-term road map by the government to say that this (GST rate of 5 percent) will continue till 2035 or till the time there is a 30 percent adoption of EVs.”

He also asserted that the company would look forward to leverage on Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Europe in order to make cars affordable.

“We are a big supporter of global free trade. Since we are an international company; this can help India both ways. I think the government is working with the EU to look at a free trade agreement, which will help more bilateral trade. But that's not specifically for luxury cars itself, but also for the overall automotive industry and its ecosystem.”