Mercedes Benz India CLA BEVMercedes-Benz India is targeting younger customers with its newest portfolio addition that will start getting delivered later this month. The luxury carmaker on Friday launched its latest all-electric sedan – CLA BEV – with prices starting at ₹55 lakh, ex-showroom.
The company claims to have received over 400 confirmed pre-bookings for the car, which is largely targeted towards first-time luxury car buyers, particularly in the sub-35 age group.
“This is the age group where most people want to drive themselves and enjoy the true essence of a modern EV, equipped with advanced technology and features such as AI,” Santosh Iyer, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz India, told ETAuto.
“We are seeing young professionals, double-income-no-kids (DINK) couples, as well as kids of existing Mercedes-Benz owners purchasing the car,” he added, while stating that almost 60 per cent of this demographic is first-time luxury car buyer, with the remaining customers already owning some luxury car or the other.
Offering CBU at CKD pricing
What is alluring these initial customers to the CLA BEV is its pricing, which ranges between ₹55 lakh and ₹64 lakh, ex-showroom, and is at par with the sedan’s pricing in its home market where it retails for approximately €55,000-€60,000. According to Iyer, “For the first time, we are giving a CBU at CKD pricing. Since it is a next-generation (architecture) model, we are taking a hit to introduce the technology to the customers at a price that the market can absorb.” However, Mercedes-Benz India says it does not intend to compete in the EV market below the ₹50 lakh price point, where arch rival BMW India is making noticeable inroads with its iX1 LWB all-electric SUV – also aimed at first-time luxury car buyers.
The new CLA BEV is based on Mercedes-Benz’s 800V MMA or Mercedes Modular Architecture, capable of handling fast charging up to 320kW, with almost 800km of range in its long-range variant. The car also comes equipped with Nvidia’s AI stack with standard Level-2 ADAS features with capabilities to be upgraded to Level-2+ autonomy by virtue of OTA updates.
The car debuts Mercedes-Benz’s MB.OS in-car experience software in India, and the company has kept the AI integration in mind by bringing new virtual assistant integrating ChatGPT4, Microsoft Bing and Gemini, along with Google Maps navigation with electric intelligence.
The company is offering an ecosystem of over 9,000 charging stations across India on its MB.Charge platform that enables seamless charging with options for making post-charging payments and RFID recognition. Mercedes-Benz India also has a standalone network of around 150 fast chargers across its retail touchpoint in the country.
Expansion & growth in FY27
The luxury carmaker further aims to expand its network in FY27, with the addition of 20 more outlets, including those in Tier-2 cities such as Varanasi and Vishakhapatnam.
According to Iyer, while the ongoing geo-political tensions are causing uncertainties, the demand for luxury cars in India looks set to grow at a modest single-digit rate in FY27, with the long-term growth potential of the economy being the key lever.
“Our prognosis for the year was always a single-digit growth, and we continue to maintain that. The luxury car market in India should grow in single digits as it has done in the last two years,” Iyer signed off.
