German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz plans to offer petrol variants for all its models sold in India by next month so as to align with the demand shift following uncertainty over diesel vehicles in the wake of pollution concerns.
The company, launched the petrol variant of its best selling SUV in India GLE 400 priced at Rs 74.90 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), expects sales of the petrol vehicles to go up to 30 per cent of its overall sales from the current 20 per cent.
After the Supreme Court lifted ban on sales of diesel cars and SUVs with engine size of 2,000 cc or above in Delhi- NCR subject to one per cent environment compensation cess (ECC), Mercedes-Benz said has it decided not to pass the burden to its customers and will absorb it.
“The introduction of the GLE 400 in petrol is part of our product strategy to strengthen our petrol portfolio in the SUV segment. We plan to offer petrol variants in all our products by September and give the customers an additional options to choose from,” Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director & CEO Roland Folger said.
Stating that the company has seen the share of its petrol portfolio rising constantly, he said the introduction of the GLE 400 will contribute to that.
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