The German automaker is stepping up its expansion in India, focusing on small towns where demand is growing rapidly. At the Bharat Mobility Show 2024, it announced major improvements to its sales and service infrastructure. Mercedes-Benz will open 20 new workshops in 10 cities to meet growing demand.
Mercedes-Benz intends to strengthen its position in smaller Indian cities, where demand for luxury vehicles is set to increase significantly in the coming years. At the 2024 edition of the Bharat Mobility Show, the brand announced plans to improve its sales and service facilities in non-metropolitan cities, in order to better meet the growing demands of its customers.
“We clearly see that there is strong growth in India’s mini-metropolises and we are now increasing our customers’ fleet in these cities,” said Santosh Iyer, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India.
To meet customer demand, the company is inaugurating 20 new workshops in 10 new cities such as Jammu, Kanpur and Patna. “We’re very aware that in these mini-metropolises, customers don’t have to drive their cars for more than two hours to get serviced. So we want to get closer to these customers.”
The penetration of luxury cars in these cities remains low compared to the metropolises, and therefore offers more opportunities for growth, Santosh Iyer pointed out. For Mercedes, major cities currently account for around 70% of annual sales. “The remaining 30% comes from mini-metropolises and other smaller markets.”
Santosh Iyer pointed out that Mercedes-Benz’s penetration rate in the eight major cities and metropolises is 2.5%, while it is only 0.4% in smaller towns.
Promising Indian market
The luxury car market in India accounts for just over 1% of total passenger car sales, which total around 40 million units a year. Mercedes-Benz currently dominates this market.
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Featured photo : ©Mercedes-Benz
