Mercedes-Benz rolls out 30,000th locally assembled car in India

Mercedes-Benz rolls out 30,000th locally assembled car in India

• E-Class is the 30,000th car to roll out of the Mercedes-Benz plant. This best-selling model range h as already sold close to 14,000 units in India since introduction in 1996
• Mercedes-Benz announces start of second shift in its production facility with immediate effect. “Within only two years since start of our new facility we have already exceeded first shift capacity. Due to high demand of our vehicles we are now moving into permanent two shift operation” explained Dr. Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India
• Mercedes recorded year-on-year growth of 86% in Jan-Nov 2010. Considering aggressive growth, the company has decided to set-up its own technologically advanced paint shop capable of water based painting going forward. The paint shop is targeted to be operational by the second half of 2012 with an annual capacity of 20,000 units (which can be extended up to 40,000 units annually). This paint shop carries substantial investment, taking Mercedes Benz’s total investment in Chakan plant to more than Rs 600 crores

Pune – The 30,000th locally produced Mercedes-Benz today rolled out of the Mercedes Benz India assembly plant. The Managing Director and CEO of the company, Dr. Wilfried Aulbur ceremonially crowned the Mercedes-Benz logo on the shimmering black E350CDI Avantgarde in presence of the leadership team of the company at their manufacturing facility in Chakan, Pune.

From left to right: Mr. Puneet Chug (GM - Network Development), Mr. Srinivas Chilukuri (GM - Bus Sales, Mercedes Buses), Mr. Manas Dewan (GM - Strategy, Communications, Product Management), Mr. Suhas Kadlaskar (Director, Corporate Affairs, IT & Human Resources) along with Dr. Wilfried Aulbur Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India. 

 

Mercedes had reached the mark of 20,000th locally produced car in 2008, 13 years after start of operations in India. However the landmark of 30,000 was achieved within a short span of less than 3 years. It is indicative not just of the explosive growth of this segment but also of the company’s growth. “Take 2010 as an example. The luxury car market grew by approximately 65% in Jan-Nov 2010 while Mercedes-Benz India grew faster than the market at 86% in the same period” elaborated Dr. Aulbur.

Mercedes-Benz’s strategy for the Indian market have been focused upon offering a comprehensive product portfolio, delivering the highest value to the customer as well as ensuring world class sales, after sales and vehicle ownership experience. These initiatives coupled with aggressive product launches and network enhancement to smaller towns and cities have reinforced the strong traction with Indian market in 2010. This is also reflected in the growth of the company. “Our plant is regarded among the best CKD plants of Mercedes, globally. Within two years of moving into the new facility we have already fulfilled our first shift capacity. Start of our second shift will cater to the increased market demand as we foresee in the years to come.” commented Dr. Aulbur.

Envisaging continued strong growth, Mercedes-Benz is gearing itself to harness the additional growth opportunities. “We plan to indigenize more and more products in India, focus upon local sourcing and optimize local value addition. We have decided to increase the portfolio of locally produced cars beyond the S-, E- and C- Class range starting 2013” commented Suhas Kadlaskar, Director Corporate Affairs and Human Resources.

With state of the art manufacturing facility and start of second shift catering to the demand from this burgeoning market, Mercedes-Benz decided that time was right for it to establish its own paint-shop in its facility at Chakan. Piyush Arora, Director-Technical, elaborates: “The rapidly growing market makes it a strong case for our own paint-shop. We have taken the decision to invest in a state-of-the-art technologically advanced paint-shop, capable of environment friendly water based painting going forward. This facility, set-up with a substantial investment will be ready by the second half of 2012 with the capability to paint all models from the Mercedes cars range.”

MERCEDES-BENZ TROPHY

                
Sometimes, it’s best to let the numbers do the talking, right? And that’s how we wish to describe our 11th edition of the Mercedes Trophy, which comes to you this November. 55,000 avid players, 50 participating countries and one tournament; we have gone bigger, better and more glamorous. Having encouraged millions from across the globe to choose their woods, irons and wedges to prove themselves on the greens, we wish to pick up from where we left off last time round. The excitement is palpable and the spirits are high as we play host to the finest golfers at the Indian leg of the world’s most elite corporate golfing tournament. 

Golf enthusiasts will be treated to the sight of India’s finest teeing-off on the greens across the country. The regional finalists shall then proceed to fight it out for the National crown at the Le Touessrok Course on the breathtakingly cerulean shores of the Republic of Mauritius. And it shall be from this crème-de-le-crème set, who shall win that special opportunity to represent the nation at the World finals in Stuttgart, Germany.

While we’re at it, we would also like to take the opportunity to encourage our enthusiasts to learn how to swing like the pros at the Golf Clinic and get a hands-on feel of life on the greens. To tempt you that little bit more, there shall be opportunities to score at the ‘Hole in One’ and win a chance to drive off in a Mercedes-Benz!

Non-customers too would get a chance to experience the luxury and the exhilaration of Mercedes-Benz at the invitational rounds being held in select cities across the country. So, come & live the Mercedes-Benz way of life and soak in the feeling of being a part of one of the world’s finest golfing experience being created since the past two decades as per the schedule below:

A history of safe driving - Air Bags

It took 13 years to develop but there has never been a more efficient provision for Driver safety than the AIRBAG SYSTEM. Mercedes-Benz now celebrates the 30th anniversary of this revolutionary life-saving innovation.

Since its introduction nearly 3 decades ago, the system has saved over 28,000 lives in the US alone. Mercedes-Benz made the airbag available in series-production cars long before other manufacturers. This foresight is responsible for the rapid and continuous decline in the number of road accident victims worldwide. In fact, occupants of vehicles with airbags have a statistical probability of fatal injury reduced by about 61%.

 

But the systems developers at Mercedes-Benz were already aware of these advantages. This prior knowledge has allowed them to create some of the most sophisticated safety systems in  existence today.

• Mercedes-Benz was also the world pioneer in the field of handling safety systems such as ESP®. The aim of these is to prevent accidents when the driver has lost control of the vehicle.
• With PRE-SAFE®, which has been available exclusively in Mercedes models since 2002, the  company's approach is to use anticipatory safety measures to avoid accidents completely, mitigate their severity and reduce the loads acting on vehicle occupants. 
• Improvement and extension of protective systems: after driver and front passenger airbags, Mercedes-Benz developed sidebags and headbags for protection during lateral collisions – with great success: according to the findings of in-house accident researchers, the probability of serious or fatal injury in the event of a lateral collision in a vehicle equipped with headbags is reduced by more than half. The proportion of seriously and fatally injured occupants in lateral collisions fell significantly in the cases examined. 
• Protective systems are becoming more and more intelligent: belt tensioners improve the protective effect of seat belts. Multi-stage airbags respond according to accident severity. All in all, the control systems for these onboard safety features now have the processing power of the 'supercomputers' used in space exploration 25 years ago.  

With such an impressive array of innovations, & a dedicated team of engineers working around-the-clock to continuously improve the standards of driver safety, Mercedes-Benz continues to be the forerunner of efficient automotive safety systems.