Mercedes-Benz India is selling more diesel vehicles than petrol and electric combined. According to a media report, the German luxury car manufacturer’s diesel vehicle sales is more than half than the combined sales of both petrol and electric. Despite the maximum limit to use diesel cars in Delhi-NCR is 10 years, still the demand for diesel is still strong.
The Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India, Lance Bennett reveals that the diesel sales is around 54% of their portfolio. Petrol sales is around 40% and 6% is their electric vehicle sales. He also reveals that the some markets are more interested towards petrol models due to the emission norms. However, the brand offers all the options.
While BMW continues to sell its vehicles with a diesel engine, Audi and Volvo have stopped selling diesel cars in the Indian market. Reports reveal that between January and March 2024, Mercedes-Benz sold 5,412 units which has been recorded as the highest ever quarterly number in 2024, in the luxury segment in India. Mercedes-Benz retails the diesel engine on both its sedans as well as SUVs in the Indian market. The E-Class and the GLC are quite popular in the diesel variants in the Indian market.
The brand also retails its smallest SUV the GLA with a diesel powertrain. The GLA 220d 4Matic comes with a 1950cc 4-cylinder oil motor that develops 190 Hp of power and 400 Nm of torque matched to an 8G-DCT 8-speed dual clutch transmission. The diesel engine is capable of accelerating the SUV from 0-100 KMPH in just 7.5 Seconds. Also the diesel SUV can achieve a top speed of 219 KMPH, and is actually faster and more efficient than its petrol counterpart.
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