Lower Prices Ahead? Mercedes-Benz's Big Plans For Electric Cars In India

Mercedes-Benz: The company wants to boost electric vehicle production at its Chakan plant in Maharashtra, not merely to gain cost advantage but also to meet its zero-emission mobility and carbon-neutral setup goals.

Mercedes-Benz Electric Cars In India: German Luxury car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz is exploring the possibility of increasing electric vehicles in India. The company wants to boost electric vehicle production at its Chakan plant in Maharashtra, not merely to gain cost advantage but also to meet its zero-emission mobility and carbon-neutral setup goals.

According to a PTI report, Mercedes-Benz India CEO and Managing Director Santosh Iyer said, "Our final goal is zero-emission mobility and carbon neutral setup, which not only means about tailpipe emissions, but also from the recyclability of the car, to the carbon footprint that we generate by producing these cars."

He further said,"We have to look at this holistically and therefore producing EVs was the logical step and we will continue in that direction as the market demand changes."

Local EV Production

Currently, Mercedes-Benz India assembles its flagship electric luxury sedan EQS at its Chakan unit. It started assembling EQS in India, back in October 2022. At that time, the company took a significant step in local EV production. Now, the company is considering localisation of other models depending on demand.

Currently, it is selling four electric vehicles -- SUVs EQA, EQB, and EQE; and sedan EQS -- in India. EQS is the only model locally assembled out of the four EV models. The prices of these luxury cars range from 66 lakh rupees to 1.6 crore rupees.

Cost Advantages

Santosh Iyer said that the localisation of electric vehicles in India could provide various cost benefits. "I think localisation helps us to bring certain cost advantages. Today if you see an EQS is available at around Rs 1.5 crore, which otherwise would have been a bit more expensive. So that really helps us," he said.