German luxury carmaker Mercedes said on Monday it has lost leadership position in the premium segment in India to rival BMW and reported a decline of 10.43 per cent in sales in the country for the last year.
However, the company is expecting a double digit growth during this year on the back of a host of new launches.
"We are behind BMW in 2009 because of limited availability of our E-Class car . . . I don't want to focus on leadership. We want to have a profitable growth," Mercedes Benz India managing director and CEO Wilfried Aulbur told reporters in New Delhi.
It sold 3,247 units in 2009 against 3,625 units in 2008 in India, he added.
Rival BMW sold 3,619 units in 2009. "We see a very strong growth in 2010 and it will be a blockbuster year for us. We are very bullish and we expect, it will be a high double-digit growth," Aulbur said.
Asked if the company would try to push its sales by offering discounts on its models to overtake BMW, Aulbur said, "The focus is on profitable growth, overall discount is detrimental and it is not our focus. Just to generate volume is not a good strategy."
The company launched on Monday a new version of its luxury sedan S-Class and sports utility vehicle GL in the country priced at Rs 95 lakhs (Rs 9.5 million) and Rs 64.9 lakhs (Rs 6.49 million) respectively.
"The S500L will be assembled at our plant and it will be the most expensive luxury sedan ever produced in India. We will import the GL350CI as a complete built unit," Aulbur said.
Talking about its highlights at the Auto Expo, which is starting in New Delhi on Tuesday, he said the company would launch a new edition of C-class sedan and a 3-axle bus, besides showcasing E-Coupe, M-class SUV and diesel hybrid among others.
Expressing displeasure over multiple taxation in the Indian passenger car market, Aulbur said, "We need fair treatment across the line that will lead to volume and it will lead to investment. I want uniform tax for all car."
Small cars attract 8 per cent excise duty while bigger cars are levied a 20 per cent excise with an addition of Rs 15,000 for cars having engines between 1,500 cc and 2,000 cc, while those above 2000 cc have to pay Rs 20,000 more.
Giving an insight on its commercial vehicle business in the country, Aulbur said the company sold 231 units in 2009 against 240 units in the previous year.
"We are expecting that 2010 will be a very good year for trucks while the bus segment will also pick up momentum slowly," Aulbur said.
Asked about its component sourcing business, Aulbur said the company will focus more in supplying parts from India and China as these two countries are 'low cost countries'. He, however, declined to give the exact volume saying 'revenue generation from component sourcing is equal to our car, truck and bus sales in India.'
Mercedes is undertaking a dealer upgradation exercise across the country which entail an investment of up to Rs 200 crore (Rs 2 billion), which will be borne by both dealers and the company.
Asked if the company would consider selling its stake in Tata Motors, Aulbur said, "We are very happy with our relationship with Tatas. We don't intend to sell the stake in the company . . . We have at present little over 4 per cent stake in Tata Motors."
