Mercedes Benz sees over 1,000 booking before new C-Class launch 

NEW DELHI:  Even as overall automobile market in India is facing several headwinds, there is no dearth of buyers for luxury cars.

Country’s largest player in this segment- Mercedes Benz - said it has received over 1,000 bookings for its new C-Class sedan even before launch, highest ever for a model in India.

The German carmaker on Tuesday launched the fifth-generation (W206) of its best seller- the C-Class at a starting price of Rs 55 lakhs (ex-showroom India) for the C 200 variant.

The diesel variant C 220d is priced at 56 lakhs and the C 300d variant comes at Rs 61 lakhs.

Martin Schwenk, managing director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “C-Class has always enjoyed a strong customer preference in India with over 37,000 customers’ loyalty. The interest level of customers has exceeded our expectations, resulting in over 1,000 bookings for the ‘Baby S’ even before its launch, making it one of the most anticipated luxury cars to be introduced in the market today.”

Strong booking for Mercedes comes after the carmaker had reported its highest-ever sales figures in a quarter.

It had sold 4,022 units in the first three months of this year, resulting in year-on-year growth of 26%.

Compared to this, total auto sales in January-March 2022 period came down to 46,04,242 units from 55,84,313 units in the same quarter a year ago, according to SIAM data.

Merc’s competitor BMW had also posted one of its best quarters in India in the Jan-Mar period with a 25.3% jump in four-wheeler sales to 2,815 units.