Mercedes-Benz looks to strengthen its presence in the premium luxury space with launches this festive season

This festive season, India’s largest luxury auto brand Mercedes-Benz looks to strengthen its presence in the top-end segment. Towards this end it launched the GLE LWB SUV and AMG C43 4MATIC sedan on Thursday. The company launched the face lifted version of the GLE SUV in India at a starting price of Rs 96.40 lakh (ex-showroom) across three variants. The SUV has made its debut alongside the C43 AMG 4Matic sedan, which comes with a price tag of Rs. 98 lakh (ex-showroom). The company said that these are the last of its launches this year.  

“We are excited to launch two new models this festive season continuing the desirability for a Mercedes-Benz. These products promise to elevate festive celebrations by doubling the delight of our customers aspiring for a top-class luxury SUV or a high-performance sedan,” Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said.  

The company said the bookings are open and deliveries will start by the end of November. “The new LWB GLE, with its new design, enhanced features, latest equipment, and technological upgrades; is the most advanced GLE ever, continuing the luxury SUV’s success story in India,” Iyer said. He adds that though the company has been facing supply chain challenges, but is striving to keep the market excitement alive with new products and end the year on a high note.  

During the January-September period, Mercedes-Benz delivered 12,768 new cars, registering an 11% year-on-year growth. “Approximately 20,000 GLEs are on Indian roads, strongly underlining the overwhelming customer response to the GLE over the generations, making it the most successful SUV in our portfolio. With the new GLE, our SUV customers now have a perfect luxury SUV suitable both for long-distance leisure travel with the family as well as city driving,” Iyer said.  

The AMG C 43 4MATIC, he added, is developed entirely at Affalterbach in Germany in accordance to the AMG famous ‘One Man One Engine’ philosophy making it highly exclusive. “The vehicle’s state-of-the-art AMG 2.0-litre four-cylinder engine is the world's first series-production unit to feature an electric exhaust gas turbocharger in the C-Class. The electric exhaust gas turbocharger guarantees spontaneous response across the entire rev range, offering a more dynamic driving experience than before,” he said.    

This system, he said, is a direct derivative of the F1 technology that the Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team has been successfully using over the years.  “The C-Class remains an absolute success story for Mercedes-AMG and with the addition of AMG C43, customers now have on offer, a strong performance sedan in the segment,” he said. 

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