Mercedes Benz has said more than half of its 10 cars and SUVs lined up for launch in 2023 will be priced above Rs 1 crore, a segment dubbed the top-end vehicle (TEV) segment. The brand's first launch of the year was the AMG E 53 4Matic+ Cabriolet in January, followed by the AMG GT 63 S E Performance, and both these vehicles fall in the TEV segment.
Speaking to Autocar India at the launch of the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance, Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, said that roughly “22-25 percent of the cars we sell comprise the top-end vehicle segment and cost upwards of Rs 1 crore.” The carmaker saw a growth of 107 percent in the segment in the first quarter of 2023, and when asked about the other upcoming launches, Iyer said "More than 50 percent of our 10 new products will be in the TEV segment."
The segment constituted a quarter of the total sales of Mercedes-Benz in the financial year 2023, roughly about 4,000 units. Iyer estimates that Mercedes-Benz has "around 70-80 percent hold" in the TEV segment.
Growth of the TEV segment can be seen from the fact that the GLS was one of the highest-selling models for Mercedes-Benz in the previous financial year, sitting alongside the popular E-Class. Iyer added that Maybach models comprise almost half of the sales of the new S-Class.
Mercedes-Benz waiting periods
Iyer added that Mercedes-Benz India sells all its allocations of the G-Class and the Maybach GLS, both of which have a waiting period between 8-16 months. It has also worked on reducing the waiting period of its other models and, as such, the A-Class, C-Class and E-Class models now have a waiting period of up to three months. The GLE, GLS, S-Class and EVs, on the other hand, have a waiting period of 2-6 months.
Mercedes-Benz Star Agility Plus financing programme
Mercedes-Benz also offers the Star Agility Plus financing scheme wherein the brand will finance a car for its buyer for the first three years, and once the scheme comes to an end, the buyer is allowed to sell the car back to the company. Alternatively, buyers can also refinance it for another three to five years at the residual value.
Along with this, the Star Agility programme will also finance the several packages Mercedes-Benz offers its customers, and these include service and maintenance of the vehicles.
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