Mercedes-Benz to hike car prices by up to 3% in January

MUMBAI: German luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz on Tuesday said it will increase prices of all its models in the domestic market by up to three per cent effective January 14 to offset the rising input costs and currency fluctuation.
"We will increase prices of our vehicles to the tune of 1-3 per cent effective January 14," Mercedes-Benz India MD and CEO Eberhard Kern said in a statement.
Rising input costs, volatility of the rupee-euro, high interest rates and other associated factors have put significant pressure on the company, he said, adding, "This has forced us to pass on a part of this burden to our customers".
The price of the B-class will be increased by one per cent, for the C-class and E-class sedans it will be 1.5 per cent while the S-class sedan price will go up by three per cent, the company said.
While the M-class SUV will be dearer by three per cent, the prices of the CBU range of vehicles comprising the CLS- class, SLK-class, R-class and the SLS AMG will also be increased by one per cent.
Meanwhile, the company also said it sold 7,138 units of cars to its dealers pan-India.
"Our sales performance has been overall in line with expectations. At the same time, we have managed to retain our profitability and premium in the last calendar year and 2013 would be an exciting year for us," Kern said.
Mercedes-Benz India pursued aggressive network expansion strategy in the precious year, he said adding, "With the opening of six new touch points in Tier II and III cities, the company now is present in 31 cities with 72 touch points and has the densest network among all luxury car manufacturers in India".