The car sales forecast for this year is gloomy with Siam slashing growth to single-digit figures. But premium and luxury cars are going to buck the trend and post higher growth numbers. Eberhard Kern, MD & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, who has recently taken charge of the luxury maker’s India operations, is confident that while it is a bit shaky now, the overall growth trend is intact.
?The Indian automotive business will grow. There might be hiccups, but it will happen,? Kern told FE.
Kern said this on the basis of his experience in other emerging markets. He had a similar experience in Russia. When Kern took over the operations of Mercedes Benz in Russia in 2005, the Russian market was exactly where India is today.
When he left Russia in 2011, Kern said, Russia had grown by nine times.
Kern wants Mercedes to do the same in India. The urge to upgrade to premium cars is very strong in developing nations, Kern said on the sidelines of the launch of the Mercedes-Benz Performance Drive and the country’s first SUV Off-Road test track in Chakan, Pune on Wednesday. There are many professionals who are getting into the segment, where a R25-lakh car seems possible to have, and this would drive growth in the luxury car segment, he said.
The competition does not bother Kern. In the luxury segment, they face similar competition everywhere in the world with German and Japanese brands in the market, he said. ?Competition is active and we appreciate it. Now we start our offensive. We did not have products in every segment but our portfolio is getting stronger. The factory here is among the best and there is a strong team. So the fundamentals are good,? Kern said.
Kern said he wants to bring in high performance in retail management, backed by a motivated sales team and a professional service support to do the job in the Indian market. ‘The hardware (dealerships) is there but we need to enhance the software (skills) with training coaching as retail is all about detail,? said Kern.
The feedback from customers and the dealerships in India makes Kern confident that Mercedes-Benz will have a positive growth year in 2013. In 2012, the company sold 7,150 cars, which saw a small drop compared to previous year but Kern said that was because they were short of models and some life cycle effects. A Mercedes offensive in 2013 will help them post positive growth this year. The new launches lined up for this year — B class diesel, new GL and A Class ? and more product offensive are expected to boost the sales numbers.
