Mercedes Says Monitoring Currency Fluctuations But No Pricing Pressure

Mercedes-Benz India is closely observing the currency fluctuations though it does not see any pressure on pricing due to it at present, a senior official of the luxury car-maker said on Wednesday.

Boris Fitz, Vice President, Sales and Network Development, Mercedes-Benz India also said without elaborating that some more new model launches are in the pipeline during the current year.

"The exchange rate is developing in a positive way at the moment. We have already done number of price corrections since September last year.

"We will see what's going to happen. The pressure is still there. The import cost is still very high. We will have to watch carefully and also see what budget gives as stimulus and then we will take a call. At the moment, it is wait and watch" Fitz said.

He was replying to a query on pricing pressure due to currency fluctuations.

Fitz said the manufacturing capacity of the company's plant at Chakan has been increased to 20,000 units a year. According to him, the localisation of the Mercedes Benz would be between 30 to 40 per cent depending on the model.

Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz India on Wednesday launched the exclusive A-Class and B-Class 'Edition 1' in Hyderabad at Mahavir Motors.

Fitz said the company expects a double-digit growth in sales in the current year on the back of new models and expansion in the dealership network.

Mercedes-Benz started the year 2014 on a high note amidst challenging market dynamics, registering a 27 per cent growth in Q1, 2014.

It also grew by 47 per cent in FY 2013-14, selling over 9000 cars in India, Fitz added.