Mercedes-Benz says 25% of its sales in India will be electric by 2027, plans to launch three new electric cars this year

• Mercedes-Benz is pushing its EV portfolio by launching three new electric cars in India.
• The company expects electric cars to account for 25% of its sales by 2025.
• The company is setting up 140 charging points across the country by the end of 2022.

Automakers worldwide are slowly moving towards electric cars amid calls to stop the sales of internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and rising fuel prices. Mercedes-Benz has already launched electric cars in the past and has now announced its plans for electric cars in India.

The German carmaker launched the EQC SUV in India in 2020, and after two years after its first launch, the company announced that it would launch three new electric cars in India this year.

Electric cars line-up from Mercedes-Benz for 2022

The first car, the premium Mercedes AMG EQS 53 4MATIC+, was launched in India with a price tag of ₹2.45 crore. One of the reasons for the high price is that the car is being imported as a completely built unit (CBU), thereby attracting a higher tax rate.

The second car will likely be more affordable as it will be locally assembled after the company brings in knocked-down kits. The company is expected to launch the electric sedan, the EQS 580, next month.

The third car from the company will be the Mercedes EQB SUV that is slated to launch in November. The EQB will be the first electric SUV from the company in India to feature seven seats.

Mercedes says electric cars will account for 25% of its sales by 2027

Mercedes has also said that it expects electric cars to account for 25% of its sales by 2027, Martin Schwenk, the company’s managing director, said that the number was unthinkable two years ago when it launched its first electric car in India.

Mercedes-Benz invests in charging infrastructure

To push the sale of its electric cars, the company is reportedly investing ₹15 crore along with franchise partners to establish 140 charging points across the country by the end of the year.

“The charging network will be exclusively available 24x7 for Mercedes Benz customers. The vehicles can be charged at the company dealerships free of cost till 2023," Schwenk said.

Out of the 140 charges, 20 will be 180kW ultra-fast DC chargers, 20 will be 60kW fast DC chargers, and 100 will be 22kW AC chargers.

In the electric segment, the company competes with the likes of BMW and Audi, who have launched their own electric cars. While BMW offers cars like the iX SUV and i4 sedan, Audi offers cars like the e-tron 50, e-tron 55 and more.

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