Mercedes Benz Electric Vehicles: Scope in India and Beyond

Overview of the Mercedes Benz EV plan: 

The German car maker Mercedes-Benz is confident about electric cars globally and believes that electric cars will play a crucial role as the entire world prepares to adapt to the future of mobility. The automobile giant has started abandoning the production of internal combustion engines completely. Mercedes Benz electric vehicles will now take precedence with ICEs being put on the backburner. As per a report published in a German motor magazine called Auto Motor and Sport, the brand’s main target will be electrification, in the field of batteries as well as electric power trains. All the technical and financial resources, which were used in the production of internal combustion engines will be directed towards EVs accordingly.

This year, Mercedes-Benz also confirmed that it will streamline some of its production for various models and platforms to reduce production costs. The brand will instead optimize its profits by putting its focus on its electrification efforts. The company has understood its growth complications in its ICE line up. So now, the idea is to streamline the production.

It is not yet confirmed which Mercedes Benz products will be discontinued but it is assured that the AMG GT, G-Class, SL, and S-Class will continue to have their own systems. Some other vehicles of the Mercedes will share the architecture of the said models but there are hints that certain exotic models will have to exit. Earlier reports confirmed that Mercedes will ditch the X-Class pickup variants as well as the S-class coupe and cabriolet models.

EV scene of Mercedes Benz India 

On the other side, Mercedes-Benz India is taking a somewhat careful approach for the launch of electric vehicles in India as the EV industry is still in its nascent stage. This three-pointed star marque is the number one luxury carmaker in India and it strongly believes that the country will be one of the key markets for electric vehicles in the coming years as the government’s focus in reducing oil import bill will facilitate the rollout of eco-friendly vehicles. In fact, Mercedes-Benz India is the first carmaker in India to launch BS-VI compliant electric cars.

The carmaker has kicked off its EV journey in India with the launch of electric SUV EQC model in April 2020, as it expects more such products to be introduced out here. The company is currently analysing which electric vehicle could be launched in the country out of the ten electric vehicles (EVs) that it plans to launch globally in the coming two years.

The carmaker also states that initially, the import duty for hybrid and electric vehicles in India should be ‘lenient’ enough to achieve volumes which will further encourage many companies to invest in local manufacturing. If the government is able to provide a good ecosystem and boost the charging infrastructure, the market is going to be huge in the country.

For instance, in 2017, Mercedes-Benz India sold a total of 15,330 units (a record of 16 per cent sales growth over 2016). The company, therefore, sees the government support in terms of building strategy of electrification in the Indian market.