Mercedes posts 34% sales growth in Q1, eyes strong rebound in 2021

India's largest luxury carmaker Mercedes Benz has posted a strong growth of 34 percent in the first quarter of this year, which it believes has set things nicely for a strong rebound in sales in calendar year 2021. The company had posted a 43 percent decline in sales in 2020 at 7,893 units on account of Covid-19 impact.

In the first three months of this year, the company has so far managed to sell 3,193 units against 2,386 units last year. The company said the growth is largely on the back of stronger than expected demand for its volume models like the C and E class sedans and GLC, GLE and GLS SUVs. Besides, it has also received encouraging response to its newly launched entry level sedan A Class limousine. Mercedes has lined up a pipeline of 15 launches this year.

"2021 has begun on a strong note for us as we look for substantial sales recovery this year. The Q1 2021 sales momentum combined with the growing availability of volume models, will create a strong base for further recovery in coming quarters," said Martin Schwenk, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India. "Customers have appreciated our strategy of offering topline products with significant feature and technology enhancements, and we will continue to pursue this in our upcoming products, to create a distinct differentiation in the market. Our Q1 2021 performance makes us confident that this growth momentum can be continued in the coming months as well."

The firm's tally for the three months however was well below the peak volumes that it had hit in the past. In 2019, it had managed to sell 3,885 units during the quarter while in 2018 the figure was the highest ever at 4,556 units. The 2021 sales tally represents an 18 percent decline over 2019 and a near 30 percent drop over 2018. Nevertheless, due to the low base effect from last year in the second quarter when the economy was under lockdown, the company's sales performance is expected to be very strong in the next few months.

"With a solid order bank for most of our volume models extending into months, we are very confident of driving growth back in the coming months. We hence start Q2 with a positive outlook buoyed by the growing availability of our newly introduced models, combined with the market debut of some of the most awaited products that will redefine the luxury segment completely," Schwenk said. "Our endeavor will remain to keep our customers intrigued with our product introductions and novel customer focused initiatives."

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