Sedan demand remains strong despite SUV growth: Mercedes-Benz India MD & CEO

Sedans and hatchbacks may be experiencing squeezing sales numbers amid the rapidly increasing growth of SUVs and crossovers in the mass market segment, but Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer believes that demands for sedans remain strong in the luxury segment. He has said that sedans are still holding strong for the German luxury carmaker in India despite the demand for the SUVs soaring in the overall Indian passenger car market, reports PTI.

Mercedes-Benz India expects the share of SUVs in its overall sales will be slightly higher after the recent launch of the new GLC SUV at a starting price of ₹73.50 lakh (ex-showroom). However, the automaker also hopes that the demand for luxury sedans from the brand will continue to remain strong in the coming days. Incidentally, the share of SUVs in the overall Indian passenger cars market has grown to 47 per cent this year from just around 22 per cent five years back.

Watch: Mercedes Benz GLC 2023: First drive review

Speaking about the demands for Mercedes-Benz sedans in India, Iyer said that the company has a balanced sedan and SUV portfolio in its lineup in the country. "Fortunately our portfolio is a balanced sedan-SUV portfolio. We have the A-Class, the B Class, the E Class and the S Class in sedan and then we have mirrored that in the SUV portfolio with a GLA, GLC, GLE and GLS. Right now the share of sedans versus SUVs is almost 48:52," Iyer told the news agency. However, he admitted that with the launch of the new GLC, the share of SUVs in the auto company's overall sales could inch up to 55-57 per cent. He also added that sedans contributed to nearly 50 per cent of its total 8,500 cars sold in the first half of 2023 in India. "A 50 per cent share of around 8,500 in the first half, I would say nearly 4,500 customers still bought sedans in the first half of 2023," Iyer added further.

The three-star logoed German luxury car brand registered a 13 per cent year-on-year growth in its sales with 8,528 units sold in the first half of this year, between January and June, recording its best-ever half-yearly sales in the country.

Speaking about the prospect of Mercedes-Benz sedans in India, Iyer believes that the demand for them will remain robust. "The E Class still remains the largest selling car in our portfolio and that is a sedan by a far margin. That clearly shows with the right product in the right segment you still can sell irrespective of the body type. The focus is to give those product configurations and options to the market," he said. Citing the sheer driving comfort of a sedan as well as the travelling comfort of these cars. he believes that nothing can beat the sedans.