When we speak of luxury SUVs in the Indian market, the brands that strike our mind first are BMW, Audi and Land Rover. In a change of fate, Mercedes-Benz has out beaten all these brands, selling the entire batch of M Class SUVs within one week from launch.
A little over a week ago, Mercedes launched the ML350 CDI in India at an ex-showroom price of Rs 66 lacs. Since the assembly at the Chakan facility in Maharashtra has not commenced yet, the first batch of M Class SUVs arrived via CBU route, fetching higher excise duty than the CKD kits that will arrive later. However, that did not prevent the fans of tristar to book the entire lot of 100 SUVs.
With the success of the first batch of the AMG styled SUV, the market is all heated up to welcome the next batch. The second batch of Mercedes-Benz ML350 CDI will arrive via CKD kits, costing 15 percent less than the CBUs.
Mercedes-Benz has invested a sum of Rs 650 crores at the Chakan facility in Maharasthra. With the EU appealing the state to reduce the excise duty, there is hope for Mercedes to bring its SUV fleet with a more competitive price tag.
