[/quote]Food for thought - The S Class averages about 12 - 13 cars per month.[quote]
Wow, now thats some amazing statistic. Lets do some math then. Lets suppose DCIL sells 150 S-Classes a year averaging Rs. 70 lakhs a piece. You have Rs. 105 crores worth turnover just from a single product, wow, i think Maruti or Hyundai would love to sell something like this!
But i guess its just a statistic again. As for the E-class, i can see a few more reasons. With the C-Class costing anywhere between 26 and 30 lakhs on-road Mumbai, its gone into a self-created segment, far away from the likes of the Accords and Camrys. Also increasingly at another 10 lakhs u get the brilliant E, keys in hand. Its kinda stuck nowhere actually so i am just not surprised. Ideally, DCIL really need to think about repositioning the C-class lineup but i don't think its easy as for a brand like Mercedes, going down with prices means loss in brand-value and thats something they can't afford to mess with.
Sure u might argue that the facelifted C comes at no extra cost and thats good, but still it seems a tad overpriced. What worries me is not just the Superb but Audi with its A4 speculated for an early 2005 launch. The A4 is renowned worldwide to be the best combination between being sporty (ala BMW) and a tech tour-de-force (ala Merc) yet being more comfortable than the two. Its entry, if it does happen, could mean some tough times for Merc, especially in the metros. And the clincher could be the brilliant diesels from the VW group in the Audi and that 1.8 Turbo that spools out an awesome 160+bhp. All of it at a price probably lower than Mercedes.
Its tough times ahead for DCIL in the D-segment.
Revv |