Mercedes-Benz India Confident Of Double-Digit Growth This Year, Says CEO

Mercedes-Benz India, the Indian arm of German luxury carmaker, on Thursday sounded confident about posting double-digit growth this calendar year and expects demand to remain strong in the coming festive season compared to last year.

The company is seeing growth in its electric vehicle portfolio, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director Santosh Iyer told PTI. He said that the electric version of the Maybach will be released in September of this year.

"We grew 9% in the first half of 2024. Of course, quarter two has low seasonality, and this year it was even lower considering the elections. But when we look at the third quarter, it again shows a good amount of bookings. The market is there," Iyer said.

The top-end segment grew 12% against an overall 9% growth in the first half of 2024, he said. The company's core luxury segment accounts for 60% of the overall portfolio in India, he said.

"We will have our new E-class coming in; hence, we will also see a lot of momentum in our core luxury segment as well. So overall, we are quite optimistic. We would like to continue our dominance in the top-end segment," Iyer said.

Stating that total passenger vehicle sales grew 14% year-on-year in July, Iyer said, "I think the momentum is coming back after the short lull (due to the election period)."

On the demand for the festive season, Iyer said, "We have already started getting leads and enquiries in the system, so there is a positive attitude to buy and consume luxury cars. So, I think it should be as good as it was last year."

Mercedes-Benz India reported a 9% growth in sales at 9,262 units in India in the first half of 2024, its highest ever half-yearly sales in the country, riding on strong demand across categories and the availability of volume models.

The company had posted sales of 8,528 units in the January-June period of 2023, which was its previous highest half-yearly sales, Mercedes-Benz India said in a statement.

The battery electric vehicle portfolio grew by 60% in the first half of 2024, comprising 5% of total sales volumes.

(With inputs from PTI)