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Mercedes-Benz gears up to regain market share
Posted on 22 Jun 20124,191 Views Comments
Mercedes-Benz may have lost pole position in car sales in India, but MD Peter Honegg has a few tricks up his sleeve to make sure that the automaker gets back on top
“In the future we may ask the customer if he would be willing to switch to slightly more reasonable tyres suited for top speeds of 180-200 kmpl while keeping the brakes the same,” says Honegg. He adds that while the HQ in Germany has given a tentative nod to explore these possibilities as long as none of the safety features are touched, nothing has been finalised yet.
The company did get a bit of a jolt when BMW and Audi launched in India. Hormazd Sohrabjee, editor, Autocar India says, “Mercedes is fundamentally a strong brand and you can't take away from that. The issue was that it had gaps in its product range which the competition filled. The company has some new launches on the anvil which will help it bounce back but it will take a few years,” he says. The company was a bit late to bring its SUVs to India, something that worked to the advantage of the competition. It also doesn’t have a car in the rapidly growing under Rs 25 lakh segment yet.
That would change once Mercedes launches its A and B class models in India over the next few years. The company has lined up a slew of new cars for India and intends on launching three-four new vehicles every year over the next few years.
The one thing that bothers Honegg is that Mercs have got a image of being a stodgy car for the older generation, something he vehemently disagrees with. To reinforce that it is also a sporty brand, the company has been aggressively started marketing the AMG range, and earlier this year set up a performance driving academy in collaboration with Jaypee Associates at the Buddh International Circuit in Noida.
He’s also made sure that the bestselling C 63 AMG is readily available for test drives at all dealerships, and consumer surveys showed that the brand perception has been gradually changing. “We are the oldest auto company in the world, and you cannot be that way unless you always reinvent yourself. If you rest on your laurels, you die,” he signs off.
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