Mercedes-Benz India sales dip 16 percent in Jan-Sep period
Luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India on Wednesday reported a 15.89 per cent fall in sales in the first nine months (January-September) of the year at 9,915 units as compared with 11,789 units in the same period last year.
The company said it "achieved satisfactory sales performance", boosted by September sales, under continuing strong macro-economic challenges from earlier quarters.
"We are glad to maintain our market leadership in the luxury car market despite facing strong macro-economic headwinds from the earlier quarters, and also having a higher base in the segment," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Martin Schwenk said in a statement.
The company has already crossed 10,000 units sales mark in the first week of October aided by strong performance last month and is confident of maintaining this growth momentum by leveraging upbeat customer sentiment, he added.
"As a fundamentally strong brand, Mercedes-Benz continues to remain bullish on the mid to long term prospect of the dynamic Indian market," Schwenk said.
The long-wheelbase E-Class remained volume driver for the company in the January-September period as it continues its successful run with the Indian customers.
Besides, the C-Class sedan and the GLC SUV also contributed to the sales volume and there was a strong demand for the GLS SUV, Mercedes said.
However, the company's dream cars segment grew the highest by an impressive 160 per cent and outperformed other segments in the first half of 2019, it added.
Mercedes said it will commence its latest product offensive from the fourth quarter to take advantage of high customer interest and positive sentiment.
