Mercedes-Benz premium small car for India. A-Class and B-Class anyone?

Mercedes Benz B-Class

India is a country of different cultures, religions and languages. On the other hand, it is also the country of the small car. We’ve always maintained that if you wish to survive in the auto business, you’ve got to have a small car in your portfolio. The German’s are slowly but surely realizing this fact. Up till now the German brands were concentrating on the luxury end of the spectrum only. Now though, Mercedes Benz is planning a small car for the masses, a premium hatchback infact.

“In the long term, we can develop our own car for India. The days of having global models are changing and original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are looking at market-specific models. We feel there would be a need for an India-specific car by us in the future,” said Uwe Jarosch, chief financial officer and member of the board of management, Mercedes-Benz India.

Mercedes Benz A-Class

Is Mercedes Benz India considering the A-Class or the B-Class hatchbacks? Well, only time will tell. But for now, we think Audi and BMW might be forced to bring in their players too. BMW however, had totally refused to plans of a 1-Series for India. While, it is still not clear if Audi is considering the A3 for India. If Mercedes Benz continue with their aggressive strategy to capture the lower end of the market, BMW and Audi might have to rethink their future plans.

BMW did start of a race with the X1 SUV which has prompted Audi to create their own X1 killer. The Q3 is still under development and the company has gone a step further with rumors of an even smaller SUV in the form of the Q1. Mercedes Benz had to inevitably respond to the fellow German brands aggressive strategies in some way or the other and instead of developing a micro ML-Class they’ve gone with the easier option of targeting the volume end of the market. Lets see if the launch of the A-Class and B-Class revive Merc’s image as the leader in the premium segment in India.

Image courtesy: TopSpeed