Mercedes-Benz to launch pre-owned brand in India
Ryan Joseph Ramos December 7, 2014In about two weeks, Mercedes-Benz will be launching a separate pre-owned car brand in India in order to meet customers’ demand of high-quality offerings in that segment.
There is a ton of potential in this corner of the market, and luxury car brands like Mercedes-Benz are known for retaining excellent value even when they’re sold as pre-owned vehicles, which is why there are many prospective buyers who check out the crop of pre-owned units.
According to Mercedes-Benz India CEO Eberhard Kern, the company sees ‘phenomenal’ growth in the pre-owned car market in India. Mercedes-Benz, in particular, has said that it enjoyed a 45 percent growth rate in this segment in the past year alone. The move to launch a new pre-owned brand is seen by the company as the next big step.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz took a look at the trading ratio of pre-owned cars at 10 to 20 percent, a low number compared to other regions (the company says that the ratio is more like one to one in Europe).
The new pre-owned car brand would have a tie-in with existing Mercedes-Benz dealerships in India, and this will allow customers to enjoy great prices for top-quality pre-owned cars from the German automaker. The company will be targeting key metro cities as well as Tier II and Tier III cities, which it sees as growing markets that are ‘getting more important’.
In 2014, Mercedes-Benz has so far opened 13 new outlets in India, with a 14th dealership soon to open in Madurai. Currently, the automaker has 68 dealerships in place across 37 cities in the country.
