Mercedes maintains its lead for sixth year, to launch 15 cars in 2021

NEW DELHI:  Mercedes-Benz continued its leadership position in the Indian luxury car market for the sixth year in a row. The German carmaker sold 7,893 new cars in 2020 as against 13,786 units sold in 2019.

 That is 42.7 per cent less than previous year largely due to disruptions induced by the Covid-19. Mercedes said it made a strong comeback in sales after the initial setback in Q2 (563 units), and registered a growth of 40 per cent in Q4 (2886 units) compared to the preceding quarter (2058 units in Q3 ).

The carmaker’s closest rival and second largest player in the segment BMW had delivered 6,604 units of BMW and MINI cars in 2020, lower by 31 per cent over 2019 sales. To further maintain its lead in 2021, Mercedes Benz said it would be launching 15 new products.

The new launches comprises a mix of models across body shapes, some without any predecessor in the Indian market. Some of the products lined up for 2021 are the New A-Class Limousine, New GLA and AMG GT Black Series.

Last week, Mercedes launched its flagship S-class Maestro Edition at `1.51 crore. “We remain cautiously optimistic and are confident of continuing the sales momentum gained despite facing pandemic triggered market upheavals.

We back it up with 15 new or renewed products and innovations in doing business. 2021 will be a product packed year, which we are confident will translate into excitement for customers and our dealers,” said Martin Schwenk, managing director & chief executive officer, Mercedes-Benz.  

Overall,India’s luxury car market is estimated to have  declined by over 40 per cent in 2020. Official data have showed that around 35,000 cars were sold in this segment in 2019.