Burn Your Fuel

Welcome Back Reader! You Can Still Subscribe To Our RSS Feed , SMS Subscription Or Via Email Subscription

As the battle is going on for a while between BMW & Mercedes Benz in India though BMW managed to sell its car in the first two months of 2009, Mercedes Benz said that its arch rival achieved higher numbers “pushing into the market with heavy discounts”.

“With the launch of the new 3-Series, they pushed the older version of the model with heavy discounts. So in that sense, we are not worried about their performance,” Wilfried Aulbur, CEO & MD of Mercedes-Benz India.

Aulbur said Mercedes was against “stuffing” dealers with huge inventory to increase numbers. “In our model of business, everybody needs to win, including the dealers… Therefore, you have to find a medium between what a dealers can do and what a manufacturer can do. Otherwise, you run into a situation where you burn your partners (dealers) more than you should.”

BMW India president Peter Kronschnabl refused to agree with Mercedes. “We at BMW India are prepared to meet challenges head on and ensure our company’s success for the future. We are able to do this because we invest in our brand, we focus on our customers and we actively invest to shape our future… We are the segment leaders worldwide with the BMW brand and we want to become the number one in India too,” he said.

Mercedes Benz has been one of the first luxury carmakers to start local assembly operations that began more than a decade back. But, it has seen competition growing after the entry of BMW and Audi, who too have started local assembly, thus pricing their vehicles competitively. While Mercedes had been a leader in the market for long, BMW managed to sell more in January, selling 270 units against 79 units sold by Mercedes. It repeated the feat in February, selling 244 units against 226 units sold by Mercedes (as per SIAM numbers). Audi has also been gaining ground, selling 109 units in January that grew to 113 units in February.

But Aulbur said Mercedes was confident of maintaining its edge by launching latest models and strengthening sales and service network. He refuted allegations that the company was slow in bringing in new cars. “That is outright rubbish. We have the latest products available in India and we do try and get them here in the fastest possible time”.

The company has now introduced its super-luxury famed AMG range of vehicles, while also driving in the new M class SUV. To gain strength, Mercedes has established a new manufacturing facility at Pune, investing Rs 450 Crore. “This plant has been designed to manufacture the current local-production portfolio of the Mercedes-Benz C-, E-, and S-Class. It will also take care of our future needs in India as it is flexible enough to accommodate production of other models from our range on the same assembly line,” he said.

Similar Posts:

• Mercedes Benz Targets To Sell 150 Cars From Its Gujarat By June 2010
• Mercedes Benz India February 2010 Sales Figure
• Mercedes Benz India January 2010 Sales Figure
• Mercedes Benz E-Class - W212 To Be Launched Soon In India
• Average Age Of Mercedes Benz Owners In India is 35-40 Years
• Mercedes Benz Aims To Have Strong Growth In 2009
• White Mercedes SLS AMG Gullwing Spy Pictures Caught In Nurburgring
• Mercedes Benz India October 2009 Sales Figure
• Mercedes Benz India Plans To Sell 100 Units In Eastern Part Of the Country In 2009
• Mercedes Benz To Outsource More Component From India!