BackMercedes-Benz sells over 500 luxury cars online
In an attempt to build an alternate revenue stream and align itself with the increasing number of digital enquiries and transactions, India’s largest luxury car player had launched an e-commerce platform in October last year
PremiumMumbai: German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz India Pvt Ltd has sold more than 500 cars through its online portal over the last three months after the domestic market came out of the covid-19 led lockdown, a senior company executive told Mint in an interview today.
“In the last 3 months we have sold more than 500 cars online. These volumes include upto 30% pre-owned Mercedes-Benz cars and the remaining were new cars," Santosh Iyer, vice-president, sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz India said.
In an attempt to build an alternate revenue stream and align itself with the increasing number of digital enquiries and transactions, India’s largest luxury car player had launched an e-commerce platform in October last year. Even as it began selling branded accessories and merchandise last year, sales of pre-owned cars commenced from January this year.
The company had joined hands with USA-based e-commerce company Roadster Inc.
“We added new cars to this platform from May. Roadster is a complete platform offering customers to do their transactions too as it has a payment gateway," Iyer said, adding that sales of 500 cars online highlights luxury car customers’ affinity for convenience.
“Online sales have exceeded our expectations and we hope that the trend continues. But that said, online sales contribute only 15% of our overall sales as the larger customer base still transacts at our dealerships," Iyer said.
He said that even a G-Class G 63 wagon worth ₹1.5 crore was ordered online. The company expects that online sales would contribute 25% of overall sales by 2025.
The company is seeing younger customers logging onto its online portal to buy merchandise and accessories.
“About 75% of customers buying merchandise and accessories belong to the 18-34 year age group. However, when it comes to car purchases, the average age of our customers whether online or offline is about 39-40 years," he said.
With sales dropping 55% year-on-year, the company sold 2,948 units during the January - June period this year.
Iyer said that while ₹80 lakh and above segment has recorded strong demand and is back to pre-covid-19 levels, the demand for premium cars in the ₹40-80 lakh range has been slow.
“In the ₹40-80 lakh range, we are facing two challenges – A-Class and GLA models continue to be unavailable as of now. Secondly, we saw customers delaying their purchases during the June – August period. However, September is recording a good come back, especially after the shradh days," he said.
Iyer expects that if this trend continues then October will be the first month post covid-19 to see sales at par on YoY basis. Mercedes-Benz continues to bet on the festive season to ensure that December quarter sales turn out to be at par with the corresponding period last year.
Milestone Alert!Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.
