Mercedes-Benz expects 25 pc of sales in India from electric vehicles in next 5 yrs: Martin Schwenk

Mumbai: German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz expects 25 per cent of its sales in India to come from electric vehicles in the next five years, a senior company official said on Wednesday.

The company's Indian arm, Mercedes-Benz India will be launching three electric vehicles in the next four months as part of the strategy to accelerate its electric mobility journey in the country.

Under the plan, the company launched its all-electric performance luxury sedan, Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC, with price starting at Rs 2.45 crore (all India ex-showroom prices) on Wednesday.

It will launch the locally assembled all-electric sedan EQS 580 next month followed by seven-seater electric SUV, EQB around November.

"We are very optimistic and we are bullish to look at around, say 25 per cent of sales in the next five years (from EVs)," Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India Martin Schwenk told PTI here.

He further said, "Whether it comes early or later, nobody knows but two years ago, I would not have had the guts to make that statement." The company had sold a total of 11,242 units in 2021, while in the first half of 2022 it registered sales of 7,573 units.

However, Schwenk said the current percentage of contribution of EVs to the company's overall sales is in low single digit, but from next year when there will be full availability of the new electric models it could go up to high single digit.

On the reasons for the company's optimism on the EV segment, Schwenk said, "overall, the market sentiment, the customer expectation, our own product availability all point into a direction that we will see successive transition into electric." When asked how many new electric vehicles Mercedes-Benz would introduce in India in the next five years, he said no particular number has been fixed but globally the company would have 15 models available in its portfolio by 2025 and any one of them could be considered depending on suitability and demand in the Indian market.

Mercedes-Benz India had started its electro mobility drive in India with the launch of its all-electric SUV EQC as a fully imported unit in October 2020 priced at Rs 1.07 crore.

Going forward, Schwenk said Mercedes-Benz India will focus on the three new models which are more technologically advanced, although the EQC would still be available for customers to order.

The Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC is imported as a completely built unit (CBU).

The new Mercedes-AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+ based on the company's performance-oriented drive concept and is powered by a 107.8kWh battery, the company said.

It can accelerate from 0-100 km/hr in 3.4 seconds with a battery charge level of at least 75 per cent and can achieve a top speed of 250 km/hr. It has a range of 529–586 km on single charge under standard conditions.

The company has already sold out the initial allocation for the Indian market and deliveries of the new model will start from Thursday.

In order to support the electrification journey, Schwenk said Mercedes-Benz India will set-up 140 fast charging stations this year with investment of over Rs 15 crore along with its franchise partners.

When asked about the festive season outlook, he said the demand is already strong with the company already having an order bank for over 6,000 units and is expected to go up even further.