The luxury car segment of the Indian auto market has seen some really interesting trends in recent years. A few years back, BMW overtook fellow German rival Mercedes-Benz as the top player in the segment. Interestingly, Audi, another German company, toppled BMW to be the number one seller for a period of time in 2013. It must be noted that industry experts written off Mercedes-Benz, claiming that it will not be able to regain its dominance due to lack of innovation and adaptation to current customer choices.
However, the brand with a three pointed star answered all the questions of critics by performing beyond expectations and becoming a dominant force once again. The Daimler owned firm has been mentioning its plans regarding the Indian car market quite explicitly, naming 2013 as the 'Year of Offensive'. True to the initiative, Mercedes-Benz has been aggressive and ruthless in its strategies pertaining to India. Reports claim that the company's team did extensive research in analysing the points lacking in the current operations and reasons why other brands have performed better.
Mercedes-Benz has followed a clear strategy, whereby it has tried to capture the imagination of buyers by launching a bevy of new vehicles. As a result, Mercedes-Benz launched around eight new cars in 2012 and it has continued the tradition in 2013 by introducing the likes of GL-Class SUV, A-Class, B-Class, E-Class and the E63 AMG. The impact of these strategical changes can be seen in the numbers the firm has been able to achieve.
Mercedes-Benz E-Class, in particular, has staged a remarkable come back in the Indian car market. The E-Class, statistically, is the most successful car for Mercedes-Benz in the international market. Till now, around eleven million units of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class have been sold in the world. The recently launched E-Class has got a number of changes in its design, style and technological features. Boasting of an entirely redesigned single headlamps, the new E-Class has the three-pointed star integrated in the central grille, which has given it an impressive look. Safety is one of the highlights of new E-Class as it comes with eight airbags, anti-skid resistance, crash responsive head restraints (front seats), belt tensioner and electronic stability with brake assist. Apart from these, the new E-Class also features active parking assist system, a large sunroof and a massive boot space of 540 litres.
There are two variants of the E-Class available in the Indian car market, namely E200 CGI and E250 CDI. The diesel variant is powered by a 2.2-litre engine that has a capability of producing 204 bhp at 4200 rpm along with peak torque of 500 Nm. On the other hand, the petrol version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class is equipped with a 2.0-litre powertrain, which generates an output of around 184 bhp and torque of up to 300 Nm. The E200 CGI and E250 CDI can clock 100 kmph from 0 kmph in time periods of 7.9 seconds and 7.5 seconds, respectively. Industry experts have also lauded Mercedes-Benz for sensibly pricing the E200 CGI (Rs. 41.5 lakh) and E250 CDI (Rs. 44.4 lakh).
