Mercedes-Benz GLA launched. Deliveries in May 2014, India-bound as well
Mercedes-Benz had unveiled its fourth offering on the MFA platform, and this was the GLA-Class, which was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. With styling similar to the A-Class, the GLA-Class will be the new compact front-wheel drive SUV, and there will also be an option of automatic as well. The GLA-Class will also be offered with 4MATIC option as well. In Europe it will be available in GLA 200 and GLA 250 petrol engines and GLA 200 CDI and GLA 220 CDI diesel options. The 250 and 250 will also come with the option of 4 MATIC.
This deliveries of this new compact SUV in Europe will begin sometime in May 2014 and we can expect it to enter India by as early as end of 2014. This will be game-changing product for Mercedes-Benz India as this will be the new volume seller. Until then Mercedes-Benz won’t be sitting quiet, as it will get the new S-Class and even the CLA-Class to India. Expect the S-Class to be launched sometime in February and the CLA might just take some more time, maybe till mid-2014. Also, expect the E-Class Cabriolet and the Coupe along with the V6 engines to make an entry next year.
At the moment, Mercedes-Benz gets its major sales from the luxury sedans like the C-Class and the E-Class, as they make up to 60%, while the SUVs and the compact segment does 20% each. As the number of SUV allotted to India is limited, hence the number is small. Same is the same with the compact segment vehicles. In today’s market, despite the hike in diesel prices about only 20% of the sales are generated by petrol cars for Mercedes-Benz. The petrol numbers are likely to increase, however diesel will still be the dominant player.
Being born and brought up in a family that has been a part of the Automotive industry for over seven decades, Rachit has cars in his blood. Four wheelers are his childhood love, and he has grown up playing with bolts and spanners. To add more value to this passion, he studied automobile engineering and even karted at National level competitions.
Soon after that, he got into motoring journalism- where began the process of testing and evaluating cars. He has driven a wide range of cars beginning from Tata Nano to the Aston Martins, most of the cars that are currently sold in the Indian car market. Apart from this, he has also done many long road trips, and shall continue to do so. Rachit was one of the first journalists to take a Nano across the Golden Quadrilateral.
