[Aditya]

Mercedes-Benz India has recorded its best sales year ever in India. The company sold 10,201 cars in 2014 against 9,003 units in the corresponding period (January-December) of 2013, recording a growth of 13%.

Mercedes-Benz launched 10 models in the year including the S-Class, C-Class and E 350 CDI sedans. The company claims that the luxury SUV segment was the fastest growing in its portfolio. The A-Class and B-CLass are also said to have seen growing popularity. The range of AMG cars introduced in the year included the GL 63 AMG, ML 63 AMG, CLA 45 AMG and GLA 45 AMG.

The company expanded its dealership network in India as well with the addition of 14 new outlets. This has taken the number of outlets in the country to 68 in 37 cities. Mercedes-Benz India also inaugurated three new AMG Performance Centres in three cities (Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai) in three days.

Additionally, the company also launched 'Mercedes-Benz Certified', a pre-owned car brand, simultaneously inaugurating 12 outlets across the country.

The Mercedes-Benz facility in Pune is spread over 100 acres. In 2014, it achieved the milestone of rolling out the 50,000th car manufactured at the plant.

[shobhit.shri]

10K a year translates to around 850 a month. By our monthly sales thread, it means Merc sold more than Fiat and is really close to Skoda in numbers! Interesting times we live in.

[GTO]

No press release yet from BMW . I'm guessing they have been outdone by Mercedes.

Things will only get better for Merc once the new C-Class starts local assembly and is available with a diesel motor. It'll easily add another 250 - 300 units / month minimum at the start. Then, there's the CLA sedan poised for launch later this month. Merc's growth largely rests on the sub-40 lakh cars. The E-Class and models above have become way too expensive and thus offer limited growth opportunity.

Audi is another manufacturer with an expanding sub-40 lakh portfolio. The BMW of today is simply not as aggressive as it was a couple of years back. I'm willing to bet they rest at no. 3 (like 2013).

[ajmat]

Just heard that the new MH government cleared pending blocks to Merc capacity expansion. Expect things to move faster!

[damager21]

Mercedes will be even more aggressive this year as they announced their ambitious plans for 2015 under its ’15 in 15’ strategy. As part of this strategy we will see Mercedes launch 15 new models in 2015 to be sold through an expanded dealer network which includes 15 new dealers.

The CLA-class compact luxury sedan is the first model to be launched by Mercedes-Benz India, which will go head on with its arch rival, the Audi A3.

[prakhar1998]

Originally Posted by GTO

The E-Class and models above have become way too expensive and thus offer limited growth opportunity.

While I do agree that cars above the 40 lakh mark have a limited potential, I must say Mercedes has more demand for the cars above 40 lakh.

While the A and B class sell in decent numbers, its the new E and especially the S class that are most demand. Even the ML and GL are selling fairly well for Merc.

Merc has more or less captured all segments, leaving just the compact sedan, which it'll soon cover with the CLA.

The S class is obviously the leader in the Large Luxury car segment.
E class rules the roost in the midsize luxury car segment.

Its Merc's aggressive pricing strategies, marketing and frequent launches that have led it to this position.

BMW is suffering because of an ageing lineup, and their poor pricing and marketing. Ive heard of a lot of reliability and ASS issues with BMW too.

[vb-saan]

The most impressive part is the urgency with which they bring their latest models to India. Once the CLA is in, I believe Mercedes will have their (almost) complete range on sale in India. BMW indeed have a lot of catch-up, and I just don't see them gaining grounds with their current line-up and pricing.

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Curious to know BMW's figures. Merc's climb has been commendable whereas Audi seemed to have crossed 10k+ mark in early december itself ! They are on a roll as well !

An interesting read -

http://www.mydigitalfc.com/cars/audi...sales-mark-605

[Sahil]

A friend that is a prominent MB dealer in the north mentioned that MBIL is indeed being very aggressive with launches this year however they are expecting major metro dealers to deliver over 40% growth in 2015 !

[zulfi hansi]

Yes the E & S rule their segments. They had lost the edge for some time when new brands entered the market as the buyers clamored for exclusivity [MB has been common place in India for ever]. But now they have returned and for good, not just because of the 3 point star on the hood but for the beautifully made cars, their quality and value. MBs hold their resale marginally better compared to the other 2. The 3 point star incidentally & ironically that is largely missing lately with the new sporty grill star. BTW Its a very intelligent strategy to make the star on the hood very exclusive reserved only for their expensive cars.

About the pricing it is actually to the contrary. MB cars have been more expensive in each segment in the last year. Their strategy has been focused on premium branding distancing from BMW & Audi. All their cars are offered only in single trim [no high or low, all are fully loaded, in sport or luxury options] with options of engines only. This was a big risk they had taken but it worked like a charm mainly because in India MB has always been regarded above BMW & Audi in-spite of this MB had got into the price wars with the other two. Yes, they are still priced very competitively when compared to the rivals in the top end variants, which is wise. This way they were focusing on making money, but they also did good numbers.

I have not come across any reliability issues with BMW AFAIK, A.S.S is some times an issue but if you compare the A.S.S. of Audi, its far better.

Originally Posted by prakhar1998

The S class is obviously the leader in the Large Luxury car segment.
E class rules the roost in the midsize luxury car segment.

Its Merc's aggressive pricing strategies,

Ive heard of a lot of reliability and ASS issues with BMW too.

Moral of the story, in this segment of aspirational cars, if the brand is strong and kept fresh with assurance of value and wonderful products, not diluted by price wars, it not only makes good money but will get good numbers too.

[Kn1ght1941]

Good to know the three pointer star is gaining favour with us Indians again, and why not, with an updated portfolio and a ravishing range of new launches.

Way to go

[slackyboy]

This is indeed wonderful news and was really expected. The way they introduced their models in 2014 was highly commendable and for us Indians it has been a treat to see new models quickly launched in our country finally! I am sure this trend will continue to give rich dividends for MBIL in 2015 and take it even forward. Congratulations Mercedes Benz way to go!

[PPS]

Audi outsells Mercedes in 2014!

[drmohitg]

Thats very close. I expected the difference between Mercedes and Audi to be much more than that since Audi has been the flavor of the season for the last 2 years.

Anyone has Volvo numbers? Where do they stand compared to the previous year?

[mahesh_sn]

Originally Posted by damager21

Mercedes will be even more aggressive this year as they announced their ambitious plans for 2015 under its ’15 in 15’ strategy. As part of this strategy we will see Mercedes launch 15 new models in 2015 to be sold through an expanded dealer network which includes 15 new dealers.

The CLA-class compact luxury sedan is the first model to be launched by Mercedes-Benz India, which will go head on with its arch rival, the Audi A3.

Here is Overdrive's take on MBIL's lunch spree for 2015. That is quite some lineup of fantastic cars. Notable among those are variants of S-class, GLE rivalling the mighty X6, AMG GT and C63 AMG. MBIL has significantly closed the gap with the leader Audi (1000 last year vs 650 now). With the 15 in 2015 launches for MBIL and 10 in 2015 for Audi, it will be interesting to see who emerges the leader in 2015.