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<\/p>\nDriven by a rise in sales during the current year, German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said on Thursday that the company is expecting a growth in sales of around 8-10 per cent in the next few years.<\/p>\n
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This comes at a time when the company is ready to surpass the previous highest sales of 15,538 vehicles (2018) in 2022.<\/p>\n
During the first half, the company sold 7,600 units. It already has an order bank of around 7,000 vehicles.<\/p>\n
In 2021, the company sold 11,242 vehicles.<\/p>\n
“In the next few years, we expect to see around 8-10 per cent growth per annum.<\/p>\n
“This will be our best year in terms of sales with more than 15,000 vehicles.<\/p>\n
“The market is seeing strong recovery,” said Martin Schwenk, chief executive officer, Mercedes-Benz.<\/p>\n
The company is betting big on electric vehicles (EVs) in India as part of its growth strategy and expects a majority of its models in India to be electric by 2030.<\/p>\n
“In the next five years, we expect around 25 per cent of our sales to come from the electric segment. By the end of this decade, most of our vehicles will be electric.<\/p>\n
“We see India as a market that is EV-ready and it will see a successful transition to electric cars in the next five to 10 years,” he said.<\/p>\n
This comes at a time when the country’s largest luxury carmaker came up with a Made-in-India luxury EV — the EQS 580 4MATIC.<\/p>\n
For the current year, the other two electric models the company is betting big on are the AMG EQS 53 4MATIC and the EQB all-electric sport utility vehicle.<\/p>\n
The company expects the Centre and states to continue with their pro-EV policy measures to improve demand in the segment.<\/p>\n
However, Schwenk said there are no plans yet to manufacture EV batteries locally.<\/p>\n
“We are always reviewing our production portfolio and our localisation levels.<\/p>\n
“With added volume, it always makes sense to deepen localisation,” added Schwenk.<\/p>\n
Mercedes-Benz’s first electric car in India was the EQC, launched in 2020.<\/p>\n
To further encourage EV adoption, Mercedes-Benz India will set up the largest ‘ultra-fast charging network’ by a luxury carmaker, covering 80 per cent of India by the end of this year.<\/p>\n
The ‘ultra-fast charging network’ will be exclusive to Mercedes-Benz customers, with free round-the-clock charging services being offered for the first year.<\/p>\n
When asked about the semiconductor shortage and container crisis, Schwenk said, “We have seen significant restrictions when it comes to the supply of semiconductors and we still cannot say the problem is resolved.<\/p>\n
“We have a very high order bank of around 7,000 vehicles.<\/p>\n
“Some of our models have an eight- to 10-month delivery waiting period,” he added.<\/p>\n