Saar: In 2014, the three-pointed star crossed the 50,000 production mark.
If we were to ask you to choose which amongst these four carmakers – Honda, Ford, Hyundai and Mercedes-Benz – came to India first. Believe it or not, it was Mercedes-Benz. It began its operations in India back in 1994, with Honda and Ford coming in 1995 and Hyundai only in 1996. That means the three-pointed star has spent nearly 24 years on our shores and was the first premium carmaker to enter India.
Now though, the Indian arm of the German auto giant has crossed the milestone of locally producing 1 lakh cars. If you think reaching 1 lakh production milestone in 24 years is slow, then you must also know that it was only in 2014 when Mercedes-Benz India crossed the 50,000 production mark. That means, it produced the same amount of cars over the past four years or so as it did in the preceding 20 years.
The very first car that Mercedes-Benz India rolled out of its then production plant in Pimpri, Pune, was an E-Class. The model that achieved the 1 lakh units production miles with was also an E-Class. The company’s current production facility is in Chakan, Pune, which has received an investment of over Rs 1,000 crore and is spread across 100 acres of land.
Roland Folger, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said,
“We strongly believe in the India story and its potential. We will further deepen our strong connect with the Indian customers and keep continuing to fascinate them with our products and customer service.”
Folger also mentioned that the next milestone will be a lot sooner, mainly because the industry has grown faster over the past few years. Additionally, Mercedes-Benz India produces more models locally than it a few years ago.
Last month, Folger mentioned that the company will launch 10 new products in 2018. During the 2018 Auto Expo, Mercedes-Benz India launched S560 and S650 Maybach saloons. That was followed by the launch of the refreshed S-Class. After launching the GLS Grand Edition in April, Mercedes-Benz India introduced three products in its AMG portfolio – E63 S 4MATIC+, GLE 43 4MATIC Coupe ‘OrangeArt’ and SLC 43 ‘RedArt’.
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