New Delhi: Race for the top slot in the Indian luxury car market is heating up with Mercedes-Benz closing in on German rival Audi in the fiscal 2014-15.
Audi, the market leader, posted a record sales in 2014-15 with 11,292 units, up 11.51%, from 10,126 units sold in 2013-14.
Likewise, Mercedes-Benz also clocked record sales in FY15 at 11,213 units, up 17.5%, from 9,548 units sold in the previous year.
However, in the January-March quarter, Mercedes-Benz overtook Audi. While Mercedes-Benz sold 3,566 units, up 40% from the same period last fiscal; Audi sold 3,139 units during the period at a growth of 15%.
“We had good response to our products in the 2014-15 but due to supply constraints we could not sell more here in India,” Audi India head Joe King said.
Audi’s models A3 and A6 sedans along with SUV Q3 faced supply issues and some of the orders were moved for April and May deliveries, he added.
When asked about Mercedes-Benz giving a tough competition, he said: “Game on. We will ensure our leadership in the Indian market. We have planned 10 product launches for this year with five to be launched in the next five months.”
The company will launch the new Audi TT model in India this month to kick off the series of launches.
Mercedes-Benz is also gearing up to give a tough competition to its rival with 15 launches planned for this year and is confident of acquiring more customers.
“The 40% growth achieved in the first quarter of 2015 reflected the company’s strong focus on customers,” Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Eberhard Kern said.
Kern said due to robust demand for its products across the markets there is a waiting list for many models.
“The waitlisted models include the S-Class, the ML-Class, the GL-Class and the newly launched CLA-Class. It is our endeavour to cater to this increased demand and reduce the waiting period for these models,” he added.
He said the new launches of GLA, CLA and the C-Class played a significant role in driving up volumes.
In 2014, Audi retained the top slot in the Indian luxury car market for the second consecutive year by selling 10,851 units. Mercedes-Benz sold 10,201 units while BMW was third with sales of 6,812 units.