Mercedes-Benz starts local assembly of S-Class

German luxury car manufacturer – Mercedes Benz -- on Thursday announced the local production of the new S-Class at company's plant in Chakan.

The locally-assembled S 500 will be priced at Rs 1.36 crore (ex showroom Mumbai), about Rs 21 lakh from the earlier price. The new S-Class is the most powerful luxury car to be produced in India and currently has a waiting period of around three months, the company said in a statement.

Mercedes-Benz has been increasingly looking at locally assembling the vehicles in India owing to the high import duty structure. Besides the S-Class, it also assembles E-Class, C-Class, GL-Class and M-Class at its factory.

Eberhard Kern, managing director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, "No other car stands for Mercedes-Benz brand promise more than the S-Class. Quality has all along been the strength of the company, and the new S 500 production in India is set to take this success story even further. This also reiterates our commitment to bring world class manufacturing facilities in India to support our growth in the luxury automotive business."

The German manufacturer witnessed a successful last year with a growth in volumes by 32%, backed by new launches like A-Class.

After having witnessed a growth of 7-8% in 2013, the industry does not expect a growth beyond 8-10% in the current calender owing to the election year. Around 32,000 units of luxury cars were sold in 2013 as compared with 28,000 units sold in 2012.