Mercedes-Benz Getting More Indian Buyers Choosing EV As First Luxury Car

For German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz, the number of customers in the country who have chosen electric vehicles as their first luxury car is increasing. With the demand for luxury cars increasing, Mercedes has sold around 9,300 units in the first half of the current year. Electric models account for around five per cent of this.

Last year, the contribution of EVs to the company’s sales was around 2.5 percent. Mercedes’ managing director told Reuters that the number of young customers buying EVs is increasing. The company launched the EQS 580 SUV in the country on Tuesday. Its price is around $1,68,200. This year, around 15 percent of Mercedes’ EV customers are those who have bought a luxury car for the first time. Last year this number was around five percent. The company has launched some new electric SUVs which have helped it in increasing its sales.

The country’s EV market is growing. Last year, around 42 lakh cars were sold and the share of electric models was around two percent. The central government aims to increase it to 30 percent by 2030. Mercedes’ portfolio in the country has 18 combustion engine and six electric models. About two years ago, the company started assembling EVs in the country. Up to 100 percent tax is levied on import of fully built cars in the country. Earlier this year, Mercedes had said that it would invest $24 million in the country. Mercedes’ first electric car in the country was the EQC.

Mercedes ranks first in the luxury car market in the first half of this year. The company’s sales grew by about nine percent to 9,262 units. BMW is in second place, selling 7,089 units. Mercedes has received a large share of sales from the SUV segment. Its models like GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS have strong demand in this segment. Mercedes’ luxury sedans like A-Class, C-Class, E-Class and S-Class are also getting good response from customers. The company is also leading in the EV segment of the luxury car market.

(This news has not been edited by the NDTV team. It has been published directly from the Syndicate feed.)