Luxury car segment defies slowdown in passenger car sector

Express news service : pune, Sun Jul 07 2013, 04:12 hrs

In a sharp contrast to the ongoing slowdown in the automobile sector, the luxury car segment has been registering a steady growth with many companies in the segment reporting double digit growth. Eberhard Kern, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, said the company has witnessed a growth of over 16 per cent in the first half of the current year and hoped to continue growing in double digits for the rest of the year.

Addressing the media at the launch of the new E Class at its Chakan plant, Kern said the recently launched A class contributed to the growth of the company in the luxury segment. "Within 10 days of the launch we had around 400 bookings and there is also a waiting period till September for delivery," he said.

Apart from the A class, the ML and GL class are also on waiting periods. Kern said the demand for luxury cars is at an all time high. "In view of the demand, we are planning to open 10 new dealerships and many of them are in 2 and 3 tier cities, where the demand for such vehicles is high," he said. The company has 57 outlets in 32 cities at present.

Kern said the E class constitutes about 40 per cent of the sales of the company. Till date, around 23,000 units have been sold in India. In view of the prospective growth in the sector in Pune, the company is planning to invest around Rs 250 crore for infrastructure development. He added the company would increase its production and manpower.

However, Kern admitted the overall economic scenario of the automobile sector is not very good in India. "The interest rates remain high while the growth rate is not touching the expected levels. The weakening Rupee also is a cause of concern."

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