Mercedes loses No. 2 position to Audi in India

It has been a downhill ride for Mercedes since 2009 when it lost the first position to BMW and recently this German giant has slid down to the third position enabling Audi to ascend to the second position. This happened in the first quarter of 2012 when Audi’s sale of 2,269 units surpassed Mercedes’ sale of 2,130 units. BMW maintained the lead with 2,369 selling units. Almost 15 years ago, Mercedes Benz became the first German car maker to enter India. Mercedes ruled the luxury car segment until 2007 when other German car giants, BMW and Audi started operating in India. The demand of Mercedes cars witnessed a slump because BMW and Audi started rolling out locally assembled products in the entry-level luxury segment.

According to Sales and Marketing Director of Mercedes Benz India, Mr. Debasis Mitra, the numbers are not of utmost priority to the company but quality is and Mercedes is not here to sell a commodity it is here to infuse luxury. The customers of Mercedes do not like to compromise on the luxury quotient and the trimmed variants are not meant for them, he added. According to auto experts, what appeals to the young generation is the ultramodern styling which forms the basis of BMW and Audi’s product range. Both the BMW and Audi are said to possess a belligerent product strategy that divides the luxury car market into various sub-segments which are easy to dominate. At present, the mini SUV segment is generating the maximum demand for luxury car-makers. BMW is already ruling the segment with X1 crossover and Audi is soon bringing out its Q3 crossover to rival X1’s dominance.

Mercedes is still lacking a product in this ‘volume-driving’ segment. Other segment that generates high demand volume is the entry-level luxury segment and both the Audi A4 and BMW 3-series corporate editions have boosted up the overall sales volumes. The head of Audi India, Michael Perschke exclaimed that the company is confident about its strategy and maintenance of its momentum in the market. He also indicated that the company is looking forward to expanding its foothold in India by bringing out new products and opening a new dealership every five-six weeks in new cities like Coimbatore, Nagpur, Goa and Lucknow. Mercedes wishes to turn around its fate by branding its product with invigorating and vernal appeal. In order to gain market share the company has also sketched a new strategy under which two new products will be launched every year; the company has also investing Rs, 1,000 crore in this. Mr. Mitra indicated that Mercedes is leading all the segments where it is present but the mini SUV segment has been left unexplored which is making the major difference. He also added that the company is implementing its strategy against the rivals with no hitches.