India’s largest luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes Benz India, aims to lead the luxury EV segment with new launches in 2022. The company will introduce new products in the segment and plan to commence the local production of the EQS EV sedan.
At a press conference on Wednesday, the carmaker announced that it will launch the first-ever all-electric luxury sedan, the EQS, for Indian customers.
Over the course of the year, the company will also commence the local production of this luxury EV in India.
As a part of its product offensive for the Indian customers in 2022, Mercedes-Benz will launch some of the most desirable and exhilarating products, such as the exquisite new S-Class Maybach and EQS, along with many other offerings from the AMG portfolio, the company said.
Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “2022 will be another milestone year as we aim to lead the luxury EV segment by expanding our EV portfolio with the debut of the first-ever all-electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz, the EQS. The EQS, designed to exceed all customer expectations, has already created a global benchmark as an all-electric futuristic luxury EV.”
“After pioneering the localisation of performance vehicles in India with the AMGs, we have decided to start the local production of the EQS, a step in the right direction for us towards mainstreaming luxury EVs. We are confident the start of local production of the EQS will be pivotal in driving the penetration of luxury EVs in the market, and reiterates our ambition to lead the luxury EV segment in the country firmly,” he added.
In 2021, the company sold 11,242 units, seeing a jump of 42.5% compared to 7,893 units in 2020 which was termed a challenging year for the industry. This is for the seventh year in a row where Mercedes Benz continues to lead India’s luxury car segment.
Even today, it has 3,000 orders which is the highest ever in Mercedes-Benz India history, the company said.
Sales volumes remained constricted by substantial challenges in the supply side triggered by the pandemic in Q2, while the semiconductor shortage primarily affected the entire Q4 deliveries.
According to the company, key volume drivers in 2021 remained the New A-Class Limousine, E-Class LWB, S-Class luxury sedans and the New GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS SUVs. These models remain on a long waitlist today, the company added.