Mercedes-Benz India targets 5,500 festive sales; industry outlook flat at 12,000 units

Speaking at the launch of the new AMG CLE 53, MD and CEO Santosh Iyer said the festival season this year ends in October, unlike last year when it extended to November. 
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Luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz India on Tuesday said it expects to sell 5,000-5,500 vehicles during the September-November period, and the industry is expected to sell around 10,000-12,000 units in the same months.

Speaking to businessline on the sidelines of the new AMG CLE 53 launch here, Santosh Iyer, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Mercedes-Benz India, said that the company would effect another price hike from September. But he does not see any impact of that during the festive season sales.

“Last year, the festive season stretched till November, but this year it is ending in October. If we take the period of September, October and November, last year we would have sold close to 5,000-odd cars in that period of time and this year again something similar – 5,000 to 5,500 sales – is expected, so that’s the outlook for us. For the industry, 10,000-12,000 luxury cars are expected to be sold during this period this year,” Iyer said.

He added that the industry sold similar numbers during this period last year. After that, the year has been challenging for various reasons, and the industry is expected to experience flat growth.

Geo-political fallout

“The uncertainty fuelled by geopolitical developments and tariffs (by the US), and also price increases which is inevitable, will have some impact… hopefully, we are able to have another best-ever season like last year,” he said.

New launches, such as the new AMG CLE 53 prized at ₹1..35 crore (ex-showroom), are driving growth for the company, Iyer said, adding that the CLE 53 is expected to see high triple-digit growth.

“Some of the growth also comes from new products. For example, we have the new E Class which we had introduced at the end of last year, so that will help us (in growth this year). We also had EQS 450 introduced earlier this year, and when you look at our top-end portfolio, we have eight launches this year (including the CLE 53) and the top-end segment is growing by 15-20 per cent for us. So that should again help us,” he added.

Published on August 12, 2025

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