After a four year association with German luxury vehicle manufacturer Mercedes-Benz India, Marketing and Sales Director Debashis Mitra has resigned from the company with an aim to pursue other career objectives. When he resigned from Mercedes-Benz India on March 26, 2013, the reasons for his resignation were not known immediately. However, he is believed to be looking at few career options for the future, which could also indicate getting back to the automobile industry. Interestingly, this bit of news comes three months after Eberhard Kern joined as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mercedes-Benz India.
Commenting on his association with Mercedes-Benz, Debasis said, “I have had a good innings with Mercedes India. The brand has grown significantly and it is time for me to move on. It has been good five years of association with the company.” At present, Mercedes-Benz is the third largest luxury auto maker in the country, after BMW and Audi. It is still deciding the succession plan to be followed in the absence of Debashis, as the successor has not been named as yet.
It must be noted that Mercedes-Benz holds a long term objective of becoming number one in the Indian premium car market by 2015-16 and aims to achieve this feat by bringing in 13 new products into the country. For the year 2013, many new models of Mercedes-Benz are expected to be launched in India, namely A-Class (Petrol and diesel), B-Class (diesel) and a GL-Class Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV).
Further, the German luxury automotive marque expects to achieve growth in double digits for the ongoing 2013 year. Additionally, the Mercedes-Benz India's MD and CEO said that he feels upbeat about growth of premium segment in the country. He added, “Currently, of total car sales of 25 lakh, luxury segment contributes only 1.2 per cent. We expect luxury car segment will contribute 4 per cent of the total sales in the next eight years.” The company would also be targeting the SUV range of vehicles.
