The company is looking at CKD assembly of its performance-oriented models in the current AMG lineup at its Chakan, Pune plant.
20 Oct 2020 | 32542 Views | By Mayank Dhingra
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s Indian arm today announced that it will commence local assembly of its high-performance AMG models in the country to deepen its commitment to the Indian customer.
The company will kick off the AMG localisation with the CKD (completely knocked down) assembly of its AMG GLC ...
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German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz’s Indian arm today announced that it will commence local assembly of its high-performance AMG models in the country to deepen its commitment to the Indian customer.
The company will kick off the AMG localisation with the CKD (completely knocked down) assembly of its AMG GLC 43 4Matic Coupe at its plant in Chakan, Pune and be able to benefit the consumer by keeping the price tag around 20 percent lower compared to the CBU counterpart of the same SUV.
According to Martin Schwenk, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, “The decision to locally produce AMGs in India underlines Mercedes-Benz’s clear roadmap for the Indian market and our long-term commitment to our Indian customers. We want AMG to be more accessible to the potential customers and play a bigger role in our overall portfolio we offer in India. This decision is an important milestone toward strengthening our AMG ambitions in India further.”
The AMG GLC 43 Coupe is one of the highest selling AMG models in India and Mercedes-Benz India has an AMG portfolio spanning eight models across body shapes. It sells the AMG 43, 53, 63 and GT series in the country. Now, with commencement of local assembly of these high-performance and niche cars, company aims to broaden the customer base and grow the AMG volumes in India.
“We are proud to introduce this dynamic SUV for the Indian customer now in its ‘made in India’version. The addition of the stylish AMG GLC 43 Coupé will further cement our strong position in the performance SUV segment. We are confident, the launch of the locally-assembled product will drive in value and aspiration for our customers and help the dynamic SUV retain its top preference among the discerning AMG customers,” Schwenk added.
Introduced in India in 2010, the cars under the AMG sub-brand were being fully imported by Mercedes-Benz India so far and for the first time, would switch to local assembly at its plant which now builds sedans such as the C-Class, E-Class LWB and S-Class, as well as SUVs including the GLC, GLE and GLS.
According to Piyush Arora, executive director, Operations, Mercedes-Benz India, “Our production facility, is a global benchmark in quality and technological advancement in manufacturing, and remains the backbone of our growth story in India. We are highly excited to commence the local manufacturing of AMG in India as it will add a new production milestone in our India journey, further deepening our commitment to the Indian market. The decision to commence local assembly firmly reiterates our significant manufacturing prowess and innovation in manufacturing, developed over the last two decades.”
Mercedes-Benz India recorded a 54 percent uptick in AMG volumes in 2019 compared to the previous year.