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According to ET, Merc is planning to bring A class to India. There are other threads here about Mini and Audi A1/A3 coming as well. Looks like it will be interesting times for the luxury hatch segment, but all depends on pricing again which the German trios are not the best guys doing it in Indian Market.

Quote:

Luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz is planning to launch its small car, the A Class, in India in a couple of years. Peter Trettin, president and CEO of Daimler, Central and Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, said the company would position the A Class as its entry- level car in the country. “This will be lower priced in line with competition,” Mr Trettin said.

However, auto experts feel that even the entry level Mercedes will be priced in the range of Rs 16-20 lakh.
Not sure what he meant by competition here - Fiat 500 and Beetle? Please don't follow their CBU pricing.

Quote:

Originally Posted by RakishRam (Post 1806188)
According to ET, Merc is planning to bring A class to India. There are other threads here about Mini and Audi A1/A3 coming as well. Looks like it will be interesting times for the luxury hatch segment, but all depends on pricing again which the German trios are not the best guys doing it in Indian Market.

Not sure what he meant by competition here - Fiat 500 and Beetle? Please don't follow their CBU pricing.


Quite interesting news! May be the boosted sale of Beetle & Fiat 500 inspires the German giants to come up with theri smaller models.

I remember way back in Auto expo 98 mercedes has showcased the A-class.They had said that they "might" launch the car soon,but nothing came of it.BMW has already saod that they have no plans of launching the 1-series,not sure if Merc will get into this segment.

i cant believe im saying this but even our in house Vista looks better than the A class.
well on the other Hand the Audi A1 is simply brilliant.
1 series is not as good looking as the audi but definitely better than the merc.

While the previous and current gen A class has not exactly been a looker, they have been brilliantly practical cars, and the current gen also has far superior quality which still needs to be improved.

All those issues will be addressed with the next gen car and it should finally be in a better position to compete with 1 series etc. Also do remember the A1 is meant to compete with cars like Mini, Fiat 500 etc. more of a fashion statement rather then compete with the 1, A etc.

If Mercedes-Benz want to bring a compact car into India, I think at this point the B class makes a lot more sense, and then they can wait until the next gen where rumors suggest A and B will be merged into various variants including but not limited to Coupe, Roadster, Compact SUV etc. In fact AMG is also reportedly working on one of those platforms.

I do hope this time they are serious and we do have premium small cars in India from Mercedes and BMW.

There is absolutely no market for a car like A Class in India.Yet. Merc can sell it more as a pose mobile to compete with the likes of 500 and Beetle,but that's it.

They can give the R-Class a shot though! Has quite a possibility of doing decent numbers.

Interesting - I can count this in for my next pre-worshipped car :)

On a side note, isn't the BMW 1 series headed here too?

Interesting, but unless they are locally assembled from CKD's - i dont expect them to be competitively priced. If there are priced anywhere close to the A4 or C class then i further doubt that these models will garner enough sale

Not sure if Merc wants to sell anything which will lack exclusivity. They might consider competing with Fiat 500 and beetle , however that's it. I remember an interview of Merc India head, stating that Mercedes is known for richness and exclusivity in India. This is an image they don't want to lose. They will bring more products on the higher end to compete with BMW and now Audi, but going down the price range, No, what will their elite customers feel when an S class is parked to a cheaper one. That's their thinking for Indian market.

Well an A class is still going to be as exclusive or even more then probably a S-Class, reason being at a price close to about 18-20L INR, it is only a small hatchback which mostly would be bought for city use or a car for the ladies / kids in the house.

A class will be a brilliant choice for us, my dad I know would pop for a A200 CDI / BMW 120d in a heartbeat as he loves small cars but would love the premium factor.

Not sure if an A-class is going to make sense in India. Being a Merc., it'll surely priced premium. And it lies in a level below the BMW 1-series or the Audi A3. Unlike the BMW stable (1-series and 3-series) Merc got a B-class sitting in between the A and C. And the A is not a lifestyle segment player like the Mini or Fiat 500. It is for those who really want a 3-point star, and is on a budget.

Well, the main reason why 500 and Beetle sell is merely on their looks and their cult status. I'm sure that the A fits neither of them. Even if BMW bring in their 1, they can justify it as the only sporty RWD hatchback but the A is FWD and absolutely makes no sense whatsoever

Quote:

Originally Posted by designersf (Post 1809302)
Well, the main reason why 500 and Beetle sell is merely on their looks and their cult status. I'm sure that the A fits neither of them. Even if BMW bring in their 1, they can justify it as the only sporty RWD hatchback but the A is FWD and absolutely makes no sense whatsoever

Bettle and Mini commands cult status while A class doesn't. It might sell in very low number coz of their brand value.

Quote:

Originally Posted by vb-san (Post 1807979)
And the A is not a lifestyle segment player like the Mini or Fiat 500. It is for those who really want a 3-point star, and is on a budget.

I am sure those blokes will put a bit more money and go for 320D corp edition or a C class itself, since A class is not going to give much of a snob value.

When I contacted MB India, they told till now there is no confirmation on the new A-class launch in India.


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