The annual sales figures of the three German luxury brands — Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz — are being watched closely by the automobile industry at the beginning of every year. A confident Mercedes-Benz India released its sales figure of 13,502 vehicles, the best ever performance of the company in India. The Germany company also registered 32% year-on-year growth along with sales achievement.
Mercedes-Benz in a statement said the strong growth coming from the SUV segment which grew by a record 100%. However, the C-Class sedan was the highest-selling Mercedes-Benz vehicles in 2015, replacing the E-Class as the top seller. Mercedes-Benz India retailed 503 units using digital platforms in 2015. It seems the 15 new product launches in 2015 strategy, christened as "15 in 15" really worked for Mercedes-Benz India.
Commenting on the achievement, Roland Folger, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said: "2015 has been the most successful year for Mercedes-Benz as we registered our highest sales ever in India, selling 13,502 units and growing by 32%. This gives us confidence that 2016 will be an exciting year in many ways. 'Winning with Mercedes-Benz' will be our philosophy for 2016 where we will aim to win over the hearts and minds of our customers through an array of innate customer oriented initiatives. We are confident of sustaining the current growth momentum, however, with stable policies and reforms in place."
In 2015, Mercedes-Benz India added GLA, CLA and the Mercedes-Maybach S 500 to its local production portfolio and doubled the production capacity at its plant in Chakan, Pune. The company also increased its cumulative investment in the facility to Rs 1,000 crore.
For 2016, the company has confirmed 12 new launches and inauguration of 10 new outlets. The other two luxury manufacturer, Audi and the BMW, are yet to release their annual sales report.
