Reference Auto

Mercedes-Benz is determined not to see its rival BMW gain the top slot in India’s luxury car segment, and in order to shore up its offerings, Mercedes-Benz has launched two new M-Class variants christened Grand Sports and Grand Executive, which fall under the sports utility vehicle (SUV) category.

On the other hand, BMW is also planning a slew of launches like the BMW X1 in India soon and plans to keep the SUV competitively priced. BMW X1 features include a 2.0 turbo diesel engine producing 174 bhp at 4000 rpm and 356Nm at 1750 rpm and could come for around Rs 24 lakh.

The BMW XI will have to slug it out with the likes of Honda CR-V, Nissan X-trail, Toyota Fortuner and Chevrolet Captiva. So, by rolling out an SUV that is half the price of Mercedes-Benz M-Class vehicles, BMW is likely to find many takers and erode Mercedes-Benz’s sales.

BMW will also bring in the Mini, which will contend with the Volkswagen Beetle. The Mini will be priced around Rs 20 lakh.

With these launches, BMW could stay ahead in the race with Mercedes-Benz. However, Mercedes-Benz is unlikely to give away much space to BMW in the mid-luxury category (cars priced above Rs 40 lakh).

Speaking on the launch of the R-Class SUVs, managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, Wilfried Aulbur, said, “The Sports edition has been priced at Rs 54.11 lakh while the Executive edition will come for Rs 47.91 lakh.”

According to him, the M-Class that was launched in January 2010 had been a popular series in the Indian market. The Sports and Executive editions have been priced aggressively with attractive loadings and features to attract buyers, Aulbur added.

These two models sport a discerning look from other M-Class models. The Grand edition variants comprise darkened headlights with LED daytime driving-lights, 19 inch alloys with 10 spokes. The interior colour is now dual tone and has a sporty and ergonomically-made AMG steering wheel.

The M-Class from Mercedes-Benz, which has been in India for nearly 10 years, got a fillip in its looks and performance in 2009.

It comes with a string of safety features like Airmatic suspension with height control, Parktronic parking sensors, a permanent 4WD with 4ETS traction control system that aids in downhill traction control, acceleration skid control, off-road ABS system, adaptive damping system, among others. The M-Class clinched the five-star safety rating in European New Car Assessment Program crash testing.

As of now, the new variants will vie with BMW’s X5 series models which are priced in the range of Rs 52.99 lakh-Rs 69.50 lakh. According to BMW, 166 cars of this series were sold between January and October this year.

Whereas, the Mercedes GL-Class Luxury and Executive models in the SUV segment, priced at Rs 65-70 lakh (diesel variant), sold 148 units in the January-October period this year, a company spokesperson said.

Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 4,147 cars, including E-Class, C-Class, S-Class and M-Class in the January-October period this year. In comparison, BMW sold a tad higher at 4,741 cars during this period.

With both Mercedes-Benz and BMW unveiling aggressive launch strategies, it is likely that the two luxury car makers will remain neck and neck so far as sales go, at least in the near term.