Mercedes-Benz India on Monday said it is expecting double digit growth in its sales this year, after achieving the highest-ever sales in 2023 (17,408 units) and investing ₹200 crore in 2024 for new product line-up and expansions.

The company’s sales grew by 10 per cent year-on-year in 2023 compared with 15,822 units in 2022 calendar year.

“For 2024, we see mixed signals...on one hand we have macro economy and geopolitical issues stirring up, on the other hand, our order bank is strong. We also see strong desirability for products we are launching and we are already in the market with one launch today,” Santosh Iyer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz India told businessline on the sidelines of the launch of the new GLS SUV here.

He said the company also had the highest-ever production year in 2023. The order bank is still around 3,000 units which the company is trying to bring down.

“We are still aiming at a double-digit growth though we are cautiously optimistic on this, but I think we have the right set up and that’s also the reason we are going ahead with our additional investment of ₹200 crore for 2024, taking the total investment to ₹3,000 crore in India since the company’s inception in 1994,” Iyer said.

New launches 2024

The company has a line-up of 12+ new products for 2024, across portfolios including internal combustion engine (ICE) and battery electric vehicle (BEV). Fifty per cent of the new launches in 2024 will be in the top-end vehicle (TEV) segment as the TEV continues to drive aspiration for the brand, he said.

He further said that three new BEVs will be launched in 2024, which will build up Mercedes-Benz’s BEV portfolio strong response to ‘sustainability awareness’ with BEV registering 3X growth in calendar year (CY) 2023. BEV now comprises four per cent of the total sales.

On expansion plans, Iyer said Mercedes-Benz India will create 20 new workshops in 10 new cities in 2024 including Jammu, Kanpur, Udaipur, Amritsar, Patna, Valsad, Agra, Kannur and Kottayam.

“We are trying to go to these mini metros with service facilities first because we have started seeing car parks (customers) there and we want to then also take care of the customer convenience. Our aim is to make sure that no customer should drive more than two hours to reach our workshops,” he said.

The company launched the new GLS 4MATIC SUV priced at ₹1.32 crore (petrol) and ₹1.37 crore (450d, diesel). It is Mercedes-Benz’s top-selling ‘large size luxury SUV’ with more than 12,000+ units on Indian roads, the company said.

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