Mercedes Benz car sales fail to compete with BMW and Audi in India and globally

Mercedes Benz was THE name in the luxury car industry. Until a few years back, when it first lost its dominant No 1 position in the world of luxury cars. That was back in 2005. In India, Mercedes Benz lost their leadership in 2009. In both cases, Mercedes Benz lost to BMW as far as sales are concerned.

When Mercedes lost their leadership, they decided to get back on the top as soon as possible. Until last year, it seemed like they had a plan to get off the number two position. But when Audi pushed them to the third slot, their job became even more difficult. In India, Audi replaced Mercedes Benz from No 2 spot earlier this year.

Sales of Mercedes Benz reached 964,900 in the first 9 months of 2012 which was a 5% increase in sales in the same 9 months of 2011. However these sales figures are not as significant as those experienced by BMW and Audi who experienced sales of 132,600 and 145,000 respectively over and above those of Mercedes Benz. Figures in India are not known as Mercedes Benz India and BMW India have not revealed their sales figures since June 2012.

Mercedes Benz has plans to get back on the top. Their A Class is already overbooked. In the pipeline they have the Audi Q3 and BMW X1 competitor, GLA mini SUV. In India, Mercedes Benz rolled out its new ML 250 CDI SUV with a price tag of Rs.46.50 lakhs. The company has also revealed their new M Class in a Completely Knocked Down kit into the country which will help in reducing its price tag considerably. The picture will be clearer by 2015, once the compact Mercedes Benz cars are available globally, but for now, its BMW and AUDI who rule the luxury car industry.