German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India plans to strengthen its position in the performance car segment with the roll-out of two new cars — AMG GT R and AMG GT Roadster — in New Delhi on Monday.
“We are strengthening our position by rolling out these news cars,” said Roland Folger, managing director and chief executive officer, Mercedes-Benz India. “With this roll-out, we are now offering 12 AMG models in India.”
Two additions
Titled ‘Beast of the Green Hell’, the AMG GT R and the AMG GT Roadster (an open top car) are the two additions in the Mercedes-Benz’s performance cars in India, he said.
“We are excited to pursue the 50 years of AMG celebrations in India. These new cars will entice Mercedes-AMG enthusiasts in India and redefine the performance motoring segment altogether,” he said.
The AMG GT Roadster is priced at ₹2.19 crore and the AMG GT R at ₹2.23 crore onwards (prices ex-showroom, all India). Mr. Folger said that more than 15% sales of AMG GT came from tier-II and tier-III cities and that the company was planning to open AMG Performance Centres in Chennai and Kochi soon.
The Centre’s decision to raise the cess on large vehicles will impact the sales of luxury and Sports Utility Vehicles, he told The Hindu.
“We don’t know what will be the tax impact. A 5-7% increase will lead to car prices being higher than pre-Goods and Services Tax (GST) prices. When it is going to start? Prior to GST, customers postponed their purchase as the prices came down. But, now it is going to go up, affecting the sales,” he said.
‘High level of insecurity’
He also said that there was a high level of ‘insecurity’ and that it was not good for business. “The sales this year are likely to be flat and it is going to be another year of missed opportunity in India,” he said.
Elaborating on his demands, he said: “First,... we should have a sustainable and long-term policy from the Government and not too many changes. Changes should be announced properly. We have significant stock there and some commitment to Germany. So [it] gives us some time to adjust. If that does not happen, it is highly disruptive to business.”