'Made in India' Mercedes S Class gets 21 lakh cheaper

Mercedes Benz's pride - the S Class, the flagship luxury saloon will be locally manufactured at the MB plant in Chakan, Pune. The new price tag of the S Class is Rs 1.36 crore (ex-showroom, Mumbai). When the car was launched in January this year, it came with a staggering price tag of Rs 1.57 crore and was a CBU import. Merc got an overwhelming response of the top spec S500 and the waiting period rose to three months; so in-turn MB India started local manufacturing of the same. The company is also planning to bring the S350 CDI, an affordable machine to India.

Eberhard Kern, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said “The S-Class has always set newer standards that have retained its accolade as “the best automobile in the world” with each generation. It truly embodies our DNA and aspiration of ‘the best or nothing’ in every aspect. No other car stands for Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class and we are delighted to manufacture the new S-Class at our state-of-the art production facility in Chakan, Pune. Quality has all along been the strength of Mercedes-Benz India, and the new S 500 production in India is set to take this success story even further. This also reiterates our commitment to bring world class manufacturing facilities in India to support our growth in the luxury automotive business.”

The made in India car skimps some of the opulence offered in the CBU model. The car gets new set of alloys, the Burmester sound system now, doesn't boost 3D surround sound. As far as upholstery is concerned the vehicle gets leather upholstery instead of Nappa leather, leather wrapped steering wheel (not the wood plus leather one in CBU) and a different wood trim.

The company also started one of a kind in the country 'S-class Chauffeur Training Program'- a multi lingual (21 languages) initiative to educate chauffeurs about all the bells and whistles in the new S Class.