Mercedes-Benz targets sale of 3,000 units

Kochi, May 19 (UNI) Buoyed by the increasing demand for luxury cars in India, Mercedes-Benz India has set a national sales target of 3,000 cars for this fiscal.

Company Managing Director and CEO Wilfried Aulbur, who was here to inaugurate the new showroom of Rajasree Motors, the Mercedes-Benz dealers in Kerala, said ''India was a growing market with the spurt in economic development and the demand for luxury cars moving vertically.'' He said metros like Delhi and Mumbai were extensively contributing to the sales besides Chennai, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

''Improvements in infrastructure and industry had also created a rapidly growing base of entrepreneurs and professionals who aspire for the three-pointed star,'' he noted.

Besides the big cities, there was an increase in demand for Benz cars in tier II cities like Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai, he added.

The sales target for Kerala was 150 units against last year's 120 and till now 60 units were sold in the state, he noted.

To increase the production capacity in India, the company would operationalise a Rs 350 crore plant in Pune with a capacity of 5,000 units in cars and 1,200 units of commercial vehicles in January 2009.

Mercedes-Benz had also announced its interest in the luxury bus segment and had partnered with Sutlej Motors for the creation of bus body and the launch of the buses is scheduled this year.

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