Sales of mass market electric cars have turned sluggish after recording strong sales initially. Sales fell 10% from a year earlier to 6,335 units in August. Luxury carmakers, on the contrary, claim to have a healthy order book, and are pulling all stops to make the most of the robust demand.
Mercedes-Benz recently announced the launch of EQG, the electrified version of the G Wagon. The model is likely to go on sale in India only at the end of the year or early 2025, but buyers have started queueing up and Mercedes has already got orders from 80 customers for the model that will cost INR 3.5 crore.
Albeit on a small base, the company has seen the contribution of EVs in its overall sales double to 5% in the first six months of 2024 over the same period a year ago.
Similarly, BMW Group India, which leads the EV luxury car segment with its i7, iX, i5, and the Cooper SE among models, crossed the 2,000 sales mark in the first half of 2024. EVs comprised 6% of its total sales during the period.
“Clearly, the consumers in the top end of the market are able to make the shift to electric a lot faster than the mass market as they are ready to take that leap of faith,” said Santosh Iyer, managing director and chief executive, Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes on Thursday launched the electrified version of Maybach, the EQS680 SUV, at INR 2.25 crore (ex-showroom)—its fifth EV offering in India. The electrified Maybach is cheaper than the model’s fossil-fuel powered variant. The Maybach GLS is priced at INR 3.7 crore (on-road). For a lot of Mercedes’ customers, the shift to the green number plate is a statement to society. It was hence important to electrify the car, Iyer said.
India is one of the fastest growing and among the top 10 markets for Maybach globally. Since its launch in 2016, Mercedes has sold 1,500 units of the model with the majority sold after the pandemic.
“A lower GST of 5% on EVs compared to 43% on internal combustion engine (ICE)-powered models and exemption from road taxes on EVs in certain cities has allowed manufacturers like us to price EV models on par or cheaper than ICE models,” said Iyer.
Disclaimer: The copyright of this article belongs to the original author. Reposting this article is solely for the purpose of information dissemination and does not constitute any investment advice. If there is any infringement, please contact us immediately. We will make corrections or deletions as necessary. Thank you.
