Santosh Iyer: Women buyers constitute 15 percent Mercedes customer base

Santosh Iyer, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India has shared at the Moneycontrol and CNBC-TV18’s AI Alliance event in Pune that more women are purchasing Mercedes-Benz cars. He highlighted a substantial rise, with women buyers now constituting 15 percent of their total base, up from 6-7 percent previously.

The average age of Mercedes-Benz buyers in India has dropped to 38 years from 44, implying a growing preference among younger demographics for luxury vehicles.

However, while luxury car penetration in India stands at approximately 1 percent overall, regional disparities exist. In metropolitan cities like Mumbai and Delhi, penetration rates are higher, around 2.5 percent. However, Tier 2 and 3 regions lag behind, with penetration as low as 0.4 percent.

Iyer drew attention to shifting perceptions in these regions, with a growing desire for luxury vehicles even if it was previously deemed unnecessary.

Mercedes-Benz plans to launch 12 new cars this year, including three additional electric vehicles (EVs), bringing their total EV portfolio to six. This move reflects the company's commitment to sustainability and innovation.

Mercedes-Benz is collaborating with tech giants like NVIDIA and Google to enhance the personalisation of its vehicles through software integration. Iyer emphasized that Mercedes is evolving beyond mere transportation, becoming an immersive and technologically advanced experience for users.

Iyer highlighted the exceptional performance of Mercedes-Benz in India, with 18,000 cars sold last year and revenue surpassing Rs 10,000 crore. He underscored the significant role of the company's workforce in Pune, comprising around 2,000 individuals contributing to both research and development (R&D) and IT functions.