According to media reports, on June 13, German automaker Mercedes-Benz confirmed its plan to invest $24 million in India in 2024, adding that any further expansion of the investment would depend on market conditions.
In a statement, Mercedes-Benz said, "Mercedes-Benz will maintain the investment plan for India announced in January this year, with an estimated local investment of about $24 million this year."
Earlier, Uday Samant, Maharashtra's Minister of Industry, posted on social platform X that Mercedes-Benz would invest 30 billion rupees (a total of $360 million) in India, which would help create more job opportunities. He added that during his visit to Germany, he met with representatives from Mercedes-Benz and discussed investment opportunities in Maharashtra.
In January, Santosh Iyer, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz India, stated that the company would invest $24 million in India this year, focusing on production operations in Pune, a city in western India, and the launch of new products. Iyer emphasized that Mercedes-Benz would introduce more than ten new models in India, the world's third-largest car market, with over half being high-end models to cater to the country's young affluent class. The German luxury carmaker defines high-end models as vehicles priced above $180,000.
On January 8, Mercedes-Benz launched the GLS 450 SUV in India, with the petrol version starting at approximately $160,000. Other new models to be introduced by Mercedes-Benz in India this year include three electric vehicle models. Electric vehicles currently account for 4% of Mercedes-Benz's sales in India.
