MERCEDES-AMG C63 S
How has 2015 been for Mercedes?
Well, we’re looking at really substantial growth figures. The month of October was also a good month for us. The numbers we’re seeing are right on track, and we believe quite strongly that we’ll achieve our overall targets for this year – which, once again, equates to a growth rate of over 30% year-on-year. Most of this growth is on the back of new products, with their new exciting design language, and the ability to reach out to new customers in segments that we weren’t present in. So, we’re very happy with the situation at the moment and looking forward to 2016.
How has it been for you, personally, now that you’ve been in India for a couple of months?
Well, I’ve only been here for just over six weeks – and I haven’t been in this office very often so far. But, I would say that it gets more exciting every day. The scenario that I’m seeing – the discussions that we’re having with dealers and customers – it seems that there are vast opportunities in India, and it’s huge as far as future growth potential is concerned. In fact, I recently met the German Consulate and one of their business committees, and everyone agrees that India is one of the few countries where we still have very sustainable growth potential ahead of us. Basically, there seems to be a continuous growth potential and that’s the guiding principle for our overall strategic planning. Our success in the Indian market over the past few years, and the potential for future growth, justifies the investment we’ve made in our factory and the dealer network in India.
The last couple of years have been quite sensational for Mercedes in India. What changes did you make to achieve that?
We changed our approach. We became a little bit more assertive – not aggressive necessarily, that’s not the word I would use, but assertive! We trusted our brand, and the new design language is highly supportive of that approach as it expresses that assertiveness.
How important is it to be number one in the premium segment in India?
Naturally, it helps in our discussions with headquarters. Our target is to make more customers happier than our competitors. But we’re really are not a volume driven company, so it’s not a key goal for us to be number one! But we certainly want to lead as far as brand recognition is concerned – and then, if as a result, we get more volume than the competition that’s very positive feedback directly from our customers. Especially in light of the fact that our cars command a premium over practically all our competitors – so to sell more of a product that’s more expensive than the competition is the best possible feedback you can get. It’s a strong statement from our customers saying that they trust us more than anybody else. It’s one of the few things that are measureable in the public domain, but we won’t change the price of our vehicles dramatically just to get volumes going – that’s not our target.
You’ve also invested a fair amount in R&D in India. Is that resulting in more input from Indian engineers in terms of product development?
It’s interesting you say that because I’ve just had a meeting with our colleagues from the R&D division, and their overall growth is quite substantial. Yes, they are contributing to vehicle development – but not so much in an India-specific direction. A truly international brand like Mercedes-Benz needs to project an international image, which means that we don’t do a car only for India. Frankly speaking, customers who buy our cars want to have a truly international product that can safely do 250km/h on a German highway. If you were to optimise a car towards the Indian market, you don’t really need that capability. But customers expect that level of German engineering, and I believe we owe them that. So, we’ll keep investing in our capability. And, with the overall volume growing, India will become much more important in the German development centers too. More people on the R&D side in Germany are beginning to listen to our demands, so maybe in the forthcoming years we’ll see some of those specific adjustments to our products – but it’s too early to say when that might happen.
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