Mercedes-Benz records 3% decline in sales during July-September period

India's largest luxury car brand, Mercedes-Benz, sales were impacted by the eight-month long ban in the Delhi-NCR region. The company posted a 3 per cent decline in the July-September 2016 period.

It sold 3,327 units in July-September period compared with 3,420 units in the third quarter of 2015. However the company witnessed a 12 per cent growth in the July-September period compared with the previous April-June 2016 , when it had sold 2,975 units.

Commenting on the sales performance, Roland Folger, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, "The growth in the third quarter was led by our SUVs which grew by 45 per cent, followed by the sedans. The introduction of the localized GLC was a strategic move and we are encouraged by its strong response, and expect more customers to decide in favor of the GLC. There will be other exciting new models in the pipeline which will push our growth story further. Apart from this, the fact that we are the only luxury brand in India to offer a petrol variant in each product line, also contributed to our success story. With challenging market dynamics, the growth of Mercedes-Benz firmly reaffirms the strong consumer trust in the brand over the years. We believe, the implementation of GST will benefit the auto industry in entirety, by abolishing the current complexities in the tax structure and providing a uniform one."

Mercedes-Benz sold 9,924 units in the January-September 2016 period, a marginal decline over the same period last year (10,079 units).

The Supreme Court enforced a ban on 2000cc vehicles across the NCR market that was enforced in Delhi and adjoining Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram markets in December 2015.

The GLE remained the highest selling SUV of the quarter followed by the GLA, the GLS and also the newly launched GLC, the company said in a statement. Mercedes-Benz expects the GLC to emerge as one of its highest selling models in coming months. Amongst the luxury sedans, the C-Class emerged as the highest selling closely matched by the E-Class.