Slated to launch in India on September 30, Mercedes’ GLA Class will initially be introduced in India as a completely built unit. However, the company is also evaluating options to assemble GLA Class and its A3 rivaling CLA Class locally at its manufacturing unit located in Chakan in suburbs of Pune. Confirmation on the same has come from officials at Mercedes Benz India, the company has also hinted at expanding its manufacturing facility to accommodate assembling of the aforementioned vehicles. Both the vehicles will be conceived on the same MFA platform as underpinned by their smaller siblings, A and B Class.
With the new GLA Class compact SUV, Mercedes Benz India will also make its foray in the compact luxury SUV segment in domestic market. The vehicle will get stiff competition from other vehicles in its segment like Audi Q3 and BMW X1.
CLA Class sedan on the other hand will be touted as a potential rival to Audi’s entry level premium saloon A3. While CLA AMG variant has already been introduced in India, its regular variant is expected to be spawned in the beginning of next year.
Local assembling of both the models will help the German auto giant to cut on the price of GLA and CLA Class. Hence this would give both the vehicles an edge over their rivals in their respective segments. Currently options in compact premium SUV and entry level premium saloon segments are scanty; hence Mercedes Benz India could take advantage of this fact and hit the bull’s eye by pricing both the cars right.
