In talks with Mr Matthias Luhrs

As Mercedes-Benz inaugurated the Centre of Excellence, we got an pportunity to speak to Mr Matthias Luhrs, chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz India and VP - Global Sales. It isn't very often that we get to meet or speak him. Hence, we extracted the most information we could.

When can we expect to see the CLA and GLA in India which have been launched globally?

The CLA is doing very well globally has have a global waiting list. I cannot say when exactly the car will be launched in India but I will say that one car will be seen next year in 2014 and the other in 2015.

Mercedes Benz has had an 11% growth this year? What would you say could be a big driving factor for this growth?

Well, 2013 was a very agressive year for us. We increased out networking as wel as announced the four pillar stages for this years plan. We saw quite a few new products this year. Our biggest seller is the E-class, but our new editions, the A-class and the B-class have really taken to the market and have been a big driving force in our growth.

When do you think Mercedes Benz will cross 10,000 units sold per year?

By the end of this year, we have a few days still left till the year ends, but if we consider the Indian Fiscal year then I think we have just crossed the mark, year end wise, I have not done the calculations but I think we should be close to the latter half of 9000 closer to 10,000 units.

How is the AMG Market doing in India?

The AMG sales are niche. They are only to a small group of people that can afford the cars and at the same time know what AMG is. There is a lot of potential for growth in that department and slowly and steadily the sales are growing. Hence we have inaugurated the new Centre of Excellence here at the factory, where those AMG interested customers can really come and experience a half day of pure Mercedes Benz.

Is there a huge waiting period for AMG cars in India?

Well, waiting for a car increases the value of the car. In such a niche market there is always a waiting because the customer buying an AMG usually likes to customize his/her vehicle, which means the car has to be built from scratch  and that can take anywhere from 4-8 months. Apart from that, on a global scale, Mercedes- Benz only makes 27 AMG engines per day.