intends to assemble but is also looking to accelerate sales of EVs in India over this New Year. According to Martin Schwenk, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of Mercedes-Benz India, the company plans to bring the locally assembled EQS electric sedans into the market in the fourth quarter of 2022, adding to the carmaker’s EV portfolio in India, which includes the all-electric SUV EQC, which was launched as a fully imported unit in October last year.
“We have taken a step by step approach in developing electric vehicle strategy in India. EQC was first available in six markets in India and gradually expanded. Now we are in 50 cities with the EQC and the next step is to expand the portfolio with a car, which we believe has a stronger volume appeal and producing it locally,” Schwenk told PTI. Elaborating on the electrification plans of Mercedes-Benz he said: “When we did the rollout of the brand EQC we actually looked into what safe numbers we can expect. We do the same in the EQS. At the end, you have to think of which car has a volume aspiration that makes sense for local production.”
Schwenk went on to disclose details of the EQS which will be assembled at the company’s plant at Chakan, in the state of Maharashtra. “It is a car with completely different characteristics. It’s a luxury sedan and it has a different customer base and we would also expect a broader base of interest. So the local production makes sense,” he said.
