Saar: What’s more, the company will launch a total of 10 new products in 2018.

As we have always said, Mercedes-Benz knows only one way to play the game and that is on the front foot. The Indian arm of the German carmaker maintained a strong growth curve during the financial year 2017-18. The company posted a growth of 22.5 per cent over the same period previously, i.e. the fiscal year 2016-17. For those who like to do their own math, Mercedes-Benz India retailed 16, 236 units in 2017-18, compared to 13, 259 units in 2016-17.

The company has also had a great start to the year 2018, clocking a growth of 24.8 per cent over the January – March quarter, when compared to the same period of 2017. In terms of outright retail numbers, Mercedes-Benz India sold 4,556 units this year, compared to the 3,556 units over the same period last year.

Mercedes-Benz’ range of SUVs was the main contributor to the double-digit growth during the first quarter of this year. Sales numbers were led by the GLC. However, the GLE, GLE Coupe and the GLS performed well for the company too. Amongst the sedans, it was the long wheelbase E-Class took the torch, followed closely by the C-Class. The company also mentioned that AMG-branded products have attracted people more than ever before.

In a press release, Roland Folger, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “We are extremely excited to witness the strong performance of our mainstay models, the C-, E-, S-Class and the SUVs. Particularly the success of the Long Wheelbase E-Class underlines the aptness of our decision to launch the car in India. We will continue with our product offensive and introduce a host of new products across segments and body shapes, to keep the consumer’s interest. Qualitative expansion in our network spread, coupled with service differentiation driven by our cost of ownership measures and availability of tailor-made financial programmes, will continue to add value to our efforts of creating delightful customer experience. It is assuring to witness growth across the portfolio which reiterates that luxury car buyers’ in India continue to appreciate our ‘Best Keeps Leading’ initiatives.”

The company will continue to launch and refresh its model range by launching a total of 10 new products in 2018. If we had to guess, the new iterations of the A-Class, G-Class (which made its global debut in January 2018) and GLA will be part of the list. The E-Class All Terrain, which was showcased at the 2018 Auto Expo is one of the ten as well.