Mercedes-Benz
manufactures some of the most luxurious automobiles in the world and on
December 18, 2014 they launched their first pre-owned car brand in India called
‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’. The launch of ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ was
celebrated simultaneously with the inauguration of 12 new outlets of the brand
spread across India. This new initiative by the ‘Three Pointed Star’ will
provide customers an opportunity to purchase a used Mercedes-Benz vehicle. ‘Mercedes-Benz
Certified’ is offering class leading facilities, infrastructure, tailor-made
financing options, exciting warranty and service packages.
The vehicles
to be registered with ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ would have to pass a series of
quality checks conducted by trained Mercedes-Benz staff and simultaneously follow
stringent global standards. In order to pass the test a car would have to be
less than 5 years, run less than 100,000 km, should not be an accidental
vehicle and should not have more than 2 owners. The vehicles which pass these
standards and test will then be available for sale under a manufacturer backed
warranty of one year or 20,000 km. Non Mercedes-Benz cars will be sold without
warranty. The company has launched these dealerships with a pool of 150
pre-owned cars.
Eberhard
Kern, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India used this occasion to
state that they were delighted to launch this new brand which was designed
specifically for the Indian customers. Eberhard Kern further added that an
increase in demand for pre-owned Mercedes-Benz vehicles had come about because
of their superior build quality, tested reliability, and impeccable
craftsmanship and this was the reason for their high re-sale value. Mercedes-Benz
Certified has an exclusive dealer network which gives customers easy access to
their pre-owned cars. The brand will be offering new warranty deals, a new
website, iPad sales software and staff of over 100 consultants. Their strategy
is to ensure a differentiated product buying experience for the customer while
providing an option of purchasing pre-owned Mercedes-Benz cars. The company
will also establish a new certification procedure and provide technical
equipment to evaluate vehicles accurately for better customer satisfaction.
Mercedes Benz
enjoys a dense dealer network and with this new addition they will be able to
penetrate the used car segment as well. Kern stated that their initiative with ‘Mercedes-Benz
Certified’ was an aim towards organising the pre-owned car market and offering customers
an experience resembling that of a new car purchase. He also added that this
segment had immense potential and that it would be a driving factor for growth
of the auto industry. Mercedes-Benz has witnessed a 39pc growth in YTD 2014 just
for the pre-owned cars segment. The new ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ outlets are Shaman
Wheels, Auto Hangar (Mumbai), Sundaram Motors, Akshaya Motors (Bangalore), B.U.
Bhandari (Pune), Panjab Motors (Mohali), T&T Motors (West Delhi), T&T
Motors (Mathura Road), Joshi Autozone
(Chandigarh), Rajasree Motors (Cochin), Transcar (Chennai), Adishwar Motors
(Hyderabad). Amongst these dealerships Shaman Wheels, Auto Hangar and Sundaram
Motors are stand stand-alone dealerships. The other outlets are shop-in-shops with
an exclusive showroom and display within the existing facility for
‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’.