Merc CEO believes VW scandal won’t question potential of diesel engine

Newly appointed CEO and MD of Mercedes-Benz India, Roland Folger, is of the opinion that the recent emissions scandal involving German carmaker Volkswagen is not a reason to question the capabilities of the diesel engine.

“I don’t believe that it (the VW scandal) is a reason to question the capabilities and the technical advances of what you can do with diesel,” Folger said. “We have to completely differentiate two issues here. One is somebody tampered with the device, then they were caught cheating...It has nothing to do with the performance (of diesel vehicles)...,” he added.

Volkswagen was caught falsifying emissions data on its diesel vehicles to show that its cars were cleaner than they actually were by installing a software, also known as a 'defeat device', to fool regulators.

Moreover, Folger also said that the Volkswagen emissions scandal has not had a negative impact on sales of its diesel-engined cars. “We at Mercedes have not seen any impact on our diesel sales at all. Diesels that we sell today are fully in line with American regulations.”

Folger recently took charge as the head of Mercedes-Benz India after having helmed the carmaker’s Malaysia operations for over four years. Mercedes just launched its 13^th car this year, the GLE SUV, with prices starting at Rs 58.9 lakh for the GLE 250 d and Rs 69.90 lakh for the GLE 350 d (both prices ex-showroom, Delhi).

The carmaker is banking on the GLE to drive sales in its SUV segment, which grew strongly by 70 percent in the period of Jan-Sep 2015. It registered a growth of 34 percent in its sales during the same timeframe at 10,079 units.

“We come from a strong presence in the S, E and C-class. That’s our bread and butter. But if you look at additional potential that we haven’t seen, then it’s the SUV sector. That’s why we have high hopes on the GLE,” Folger said. “SUVs are becoming much more accepted in the Indian marketplace. People now also associate SUVs with high-end luxury vehicles,” Folger added.

The German luxury carmaker has been on a product offensive this year and is confident that its new launches will contribute towards expanding its presence in the Indian automotive segment next year. “When we launch vehicles, they don’t immediately contribute fully to the overall potential to that specific segment. We are very positive in our brand expectations for the next year because most of the vehicles that we just introduced are really going to be contributing to our market presence only in the forthcoming year,” Folger said.