Mercedes all set to race out Audi in market of luxury cars

Mercedes-Benz, the German luxury car maker reported a jump in its Indian sales of 34 percent in 9 months of the year. It is being said that if the sales continued to jump like this, Mercedes might regain its number one position in the luxury car market by the end of this year. From January to September the company sold around 10,079 cars which is almost equal to what it sold last year i.e., 10,201 cars.
Roland Folger, CEO and managing director of Mercedes-Benz India said, “The success of the first three quarters has been in line with our expectations and we are confident of achieving our target of a sustainable double-digit growth. Roland Folger took over from Eberhard Kern earlier this month.

Mercedes is already ahead of Audi in this first half and is now aiming at hitting the first position in full year sales. Despite all the pressure mounting on Audi India, its CEO Joe King said that the company would do its best to remain the market leader. With the closing of the year 2014, Audi was leading from Mercedes by 650 cars. BMW landed at third position with only 6,812 cars sold. The other market players in the line include British Jaguar LandRover, German BMW, Swedish Volvo etc. all these car makers compete in India’s 35,000 cars market.

Folger added, “I am glad to see the India strategy is bearing fruits, and we are well poised for entering the fourth quarter with a very strong footing.” India is Asia’s third largest economy and with continuous success in the sales Folger says it’s the reflection of Mercedes’ customer – centric approach.

The company started this year with growth strategy to introduce 15 new models and under Kern’s leadership was able to revive market with numerous dealerships in the country. So far 12 new models have been introduced and 13 new outlets have been opened. Presently, Mercedes has 80 outlets operating in 39 cities across the country. Folger said, “We will also redefine the luxury sports utility vehicle (SUV) segment with the launch of the new GLE on October 14.” According to the company, the sales growth has increased because of the new-gen cars, sedans, AMG performance cars and SUVs introduced. Company also stated, “The CLA, the C-Class and the E-Class sedans spearheaded the sales volumes of Mercedes-Benz, coupled with strong performance from the SUV portfolio as well.”

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