Stuttgart: German auto major Mercedes Benz plans to invest Rs 350 crore by 2014 in its plant in Chakan near Pune and roll out about five compact premium cars in India over the next two years to regain its numero uno position from BMW.
The Stuttgart-based company will also introduce 10 new models in India, quickly after their global launches by 2015. "India is an important growth market for us. We see high demand for our A and B Class segments in India. We plan to enlarge our dealer network and ramp up production capacities," said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of Daimler AG and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. He, however, refused to divulge the exact investments in India. The company has so far invested Rs 650 crore in India . The additional investment will take the figure to Rs 1,000 crore.
The company may introduce A Class, B Class, a new SUV, a small coupe and one more product, which could be assembled at its plant in Chakan . The company also plans to set up a new in-house paint shop and two more assembly lines here. With the entry of more compact models, Mercedes Benz may double its sales in India to up to 20,000 in the next couple of years, said officials. Mercedes Benz India sold 7,089 cars in 2011, a growth of 22.7%.
"It is important to start local production for A and B Class. We hope to double our volumes with these models ," said Matthias Luhrs, chairman of the Mercedes Benz India board and vice president, global sales, at the company's annual results conference.
Daimler AG posted its best ever annual results in 2011 with net profit of over 6.0 billion and group revenues worth 106.5 billion. As part of its Vision 2020, Daimler aims to be the largest premium car-maker in the world with India and China being at the core of its future strategy.
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