Luxury automaker Mercedes-Benz is betting big on India’s growing EV market, expecting its EV portfolio (current and future) to account for 25% of its total vehicle sales in the next three years, up from current The level is 3% to 4%. Mercedes-Benz launched its new petrol/diesel SUV GLC in Hyderabad on Thursday.
Santosh Iyer, managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, said the automaker plans to launch three to four electric vehicles in India in the next 12 to 18 months.
“For India, we think new cars will be adopted quickly when they are launched, and at this stage we expect three to four new electric vehicles to be launched in the next 12 to 18 months. So we should slowly but surely increase penetration. In the next three years, we think 25% of sales in India will also come from electric vehicles,” Iyer told PTI.
Mercedes-Benz car owners are more likely to adopt electric vehicles because most of them already have charging facilities at home or office and may not rely on public infrastructure, he said.
He hopes some states that still impose road taxes on EVs will grant exemptions to the segment.
He further said that the German automaker’s plant in Pune covers an area of more than 100 acres and can produce up to 20,000 vehicles a year, which can be increased to 40,000 vehicles in the future.
“Our current investment in the plant is close to Rs 2,700 crore. For the GLC (recently launched model), we have invested an additional Rs 1,000 crore. India’s capacity to produce 20,000 cars (could) be increased to 40,000… we will soon We’ll see 20,000 cars in the first phase. We should get to those numbers in the next two to three years,” he said.
In terms of sales figures, Ayer said the premium automaker sold more than 8,500 vehicles in the first half of the year and expects double-digit growth for the full year.
The new petrol/diesel SUV launched today has so far received more than 1,500 reservations across the country, with a waiting period of about four months for new reservations, Iyer said.
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