2013, as a year, has not been good for the automobile industry in general due to many reasons. In the first place, the Indian economy has been going through a bad time, as a result of which the value of rupee against dollar fell considerably. The automobile industry has been affected by this, battling slow demand, rising input costs and sluggish consumer sentiment. On one hand, wherein players in the mass car segment are battling to sustain their operations, manufacturers of luxury cars have reported growth in sales figures. One firm that has, literally, made its mark on 2013 is German automobile giant Mercedes-Benz. Not only has it been successful, the brand with three-pointed star has managed to make a stunning comeback in the Indian market. Recently, in order to celebrate the success of C-Class, Mercedes-Benz launched a Celebration Edition version of the same.
Since the past few years, Mercedes-Benz had been overshadowed by fellow German firms Audi and BMW. However, the Daimler owned firm was not bogged down by this and decided to adopt an aggressive approach towards the entire situation. In several interactions with the media and during press conferences, officials from the firm described 2013 as the 'Year of Offensive' for Mercedes-Benz in India. And needless to say, the automobile giant has lived up to its words and has launched a number of vehicles in India. The list of vehicles launched by Mercedes-Benz in India in 2013 includes the likes of A-Class, B-Class, GL-Class Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), E-Class and E63 AMG.
Industry experts have tried to analyse the reason behind the success of Mercedes-Benz in India this year. There are several reasons that can be pointed out, which explain the same. Firstly, the firm underwent change in strategy towards the Indian market, something that has worked out really well. Sources claim that Mercedes-Benz adopted a new strategy, wherein it decided to upgrade existing cars and introduce new models in India. Other than this, the luxury car maker made changes to its ancillaries in India. By expanding its dealership in India, the company boosted its chances by targeting more regions. Also, sources claim that Mercedes-Benz made a sizeable investment to boost its operations in India.
However, the biggest reason for the success of this firm in India is due to its awareness of conditions. Buyers in India are highly price-sensitive and in times like these, it was important for luxury car makers to launch low-cost vehicles, Mercedes-Benz did the same by introducing A-Class and B-Class models in India. By doing this, the firm gave itself the first mover advantage by launching these models and the result can be seen in statistics. The good thing about the performance of this firm in 2013 is the fact that it has done well despite challenging conditions and tough competition. In order to compete with A-Class, BMW launched 1 Series model in India in the month of September. Audi also launched a low cost variant of its SUV Q3, called Q3 S.
Industry experts feel that the performance of Mercedes-Benz shows the tremendous potential India possesses for luxury cars. Other firms like BMW, Audi, Porsche and Volvo have also launched their models in India. In addition, it is being said that the ever increasing competition in this segment is a healthy sign for the Indian car market.
