Mercedes Benz to reap benefits of 15 in 15 Policy 2016 onwards

Chennai, Oct 16: Luxury car maker Mercedes Benz India Private Ltd said on Friday it hopes to reap the benefit of its ’15 in 15′ policy – 15 new models and 15 new outlets in 2015 – starting next year onwards.

Managing director and CEO Roland S. Folger also said that launching a new model for different price segments does not mean the brand equity of this aspirational car brand is being diluted. Out of 15 new models, 13 has been launched including the recently launched sports utility vehicle (SUV) GLE.

Launching the SUV GLE here, Folger told reporters: “The benefit of 15 products will be seen from next year onwards.” He said the sales volumes increase because of the new models launched in 2015 would be seen only from next year onwards. Folger said the company has also increased the number of outlets to 80 and is now closer to the customers.

He said Mercedes-Benz India has been logging good growth in 2015 and has sold over 10,000 units during the first nine months of this year, thereby capturing around 34 percent of the luxury car market in India.

Folger who took over the mantle in India recently said India has good potential for luxury cars and is much larger than many of the mature car markets in the world. According to him, the company decided to expand its product portfolio so that there are more models to cater to the different market segments than with few models and remaining an aspirational brand for many.

“That does not mean diluting the luxury brand’s equity. We study a segment and see whether there is potential for our brand and accordingly offer a product,” Folger said. Queried whether the company has any minimum price level below which it would not launch a car to maintain the brand equity, he replied in negative.

Meanwhile the company’s new SUV, the GLE comes in two variants-350d (price Rs.71.14 lakh ex-showroom Chennai) and 250d (Rs.59.95 lakh ex-showroom Chennai).