Mercedes eyes good festive season; posts 58 pc sales jump in Q3

NEW DELHI: German luxury car-maker Mercedes Benz today said it is eyeing robust sales during the festive season on the back of good growth during the July-September quarter.

The company posted a 58 per cent year-on-year growth for the July-September 2013 period, selling 2,696 units. It sold 1,011 units in September this year, as compared to 654 units in the same period of previous year.

"We have been increasing our sales ever since we brought new products like the A Class, B Class diesel and GL Class this year. In the first quarter when we didn't have these product, we grew only 5 per cent, while in the third we are at 58 per cent," Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Eberhard Kern told PTI.

Going forward, "we are confident of increasing sales and achieve our target of registering a healthy double digit growth this year. The festive season should be good for us," he added.

Due to supply constraints, the company continues to have waiting period on models like the ML Class, GL Class, along with the A Class and B Class, Kern said.

In the January-September period this year, the company posted 31 per cent growth at 6,461 units compared to 4,938 units in the same period last year.

However, the company is trailing behind its German rival Audi, which posted a 15 per cent increase in sales during the January-September period at 7,391 units as against 6,417 units in the year-ago period.

When asked if the Mercedes would be able to overtake its rival, he said: "Our focus is on sustainable profitable growth. We will continue to focus on our efforts and let's see the numbers at the end of the year."

Mercedes-Benz India's product portfolio comprises six models including G63 AMG, new GL-Class Sports Utility Vehicle, compact luxury car the A-Class and the B-Class CDI Luxury Tourer. It also sells the new E-Class and new E 63 AMG in the country.

PTI