VIKANT SAHAY
vikant@herald-goa.com
VERNA: Despite the mining ban and money circulation in the Goa market falling, the sale of Mercedes Benz in the State has shown a staggering growth of 52 per cent from January to September 2015 as against 2014 and about 100 Mercedes Benz cars were sold in Goa during during this period. However, Mercedes Benz does acknowledge that the market did slow down in Goa after the mining ban. The national average growth of the company was recorded at 34 per cent in India.
Speaking exclusively to Herald, Mercedes Benz in India Managing Director and CEO Roland S Folger said, “We observed that despite the slowdown in the Goa market after the ban in mining, the potential and buying capacity of our luxury cars in Goa remains high.” He added that India is a “young nation” and many Indians are now smart enough to understand the need for luxury segment cars in the early stages of life and are taking the benefit of several attractive schemes.
Of its all India sales volume, 45 per cent of its cars are either sold in Delhi or Mumbai and the rest are sold in either tier two or three cities. The company has so far sold 30,000 E Class cars pan India, which happens to be the most popular model amongst its customers. “We are now targetting tier two and three cities and in our 15-15 programme we are opening 15 outlets all over India,” said Folger.
Under their 15-15 programme, the company plans to open 15 outlets in 2015 of which 13 have already been inaugurated. Also, 15 new cars were targetted to be launched of which 13 have already been done. “We will launch our new AMG-GT model on November 24,” added Folger. Mercedes Benz in India has the largest dealer network in the luxury car segment which is 80 dealers spread across 39 cities.
Asked what help the company has received from the Maharashtra government (it has a plant at Pune), Folger said, “We have approached the Maharashtra government to lower taxes, to which they have said that they will consider it positively. This will help us build more and create more jobs. We have already invested about Rs 1000 crore in our Pune plant and about Rs 750 crore on establishing the dealer network.”
Fogler is in Goa to attend a two-day “LuxeDrive” event of Mercedes Benz at Verna in which, international celebrity Chef Vikas Khanna and several high-valued fashion brands are participating under one roof to give a “luxury experience” to prospective buyers.
The event is an amalgamation of adrenaline, gourmet and haute couture for those who are in the process of buying a luxury car. This event has already been held in 10 other tier two and three cities along with a few metro cities. After Goa, the event will be held at Pune, Coimbatore and Trivandrum.
Counto Motors Managing Director Aakash Khaunte said, “Goa is one of the fastest growing market for Mercedes Benz in India and this will engage our customer base and will help increase our base as they will experience the luxury that Mercedes Benz can provide on their four wheels.”
