One in every four cars sold by Mercedes-Benz India is priced higher than Rs 1.5 crore – a category defined as the TEV or top-end vehicles by the company. The maker of AMG performance cars and the S-Class has already hit a mark of 25 percent in the first five months of 2023. The share has more than doubled from 12 percent top-end vehicle contribution in 2018.
- Mercedes-Benz India sold over 1,700 TEV units in first 5 months of 2023
- Luxury car buyers more discerning, willing to pay extra: Santosh Iyer
The TEV segment comprises vehicles like the GLS, the S-Class, GLE Coupe, E 63, EQS, GLS Maybach, S-Class Maybach and AMG G 63.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the AMG SL 55, Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO of Mercedes Benz India, told our sister publication Autocar Professional, "We are witnessing a structural change in the Indian market. The buyers of luxury cars are more discerning and are willing to pay the extra price for high-end products. It is clearly visible in other luxury segments like watches. Our top-end vehicle sales have already doubled this year and there is a strong offtake in the market leading to a long waiting period."
Mercedes-Benz India sold over 1,700 units of TEVs priced over Rs 1.5 crore in the first five months of this calendar year amounting to almost Rs 3,000 crore. Globally, the carmaker sold 5 lakh units, of which 92,000 units were TEVs in the same time, and interestingly, the share in India is higher than the global average of 20 percent.
Iyer added, “We expect this share of top-end vehicles to only move up in line with the global direction, and we have also said that 25 percent of total sales will be from battery-electric vehicles. So yes, the share of top-end vehicles in our total sales will only move up. The emphasis is on value over volumes."
While the top end of the market is growing faster, the core luxury segment continues to have strong demand for the Mercedes-Benz brand, it says. At the end of May 2023, the carmaker was sitting on an assured order book of more than 3,500 vehicles.
Iyer says Mercedes-Benz will post another record year and will continue to grow by double digit in 2023. With the launch of the new GLC in the third quarter of this year and another four models, the product excitement will continue.
With inputs from Amit Vijay M and Manobhava Baruah