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Daimler Brand Showcase signals new game plan

Special Correspondent

The company is looking at the bus segment

CHENNAI: DaimlerChrysler India on Saturday unveiled the latest edition of the S-Class and M-Class vehicles for the Southern market at the Mercedes-Benz Brand Showcase here. The Brand Showcase featured the complete range of Mercedes-Benz cars in India - the debutante S-Class, the E-Class and the C-Class. It also featured the completely built imported range - the SLK-Class and the M-Class. On show was also Maybach.

The Brand Showcase also signals a new marketing game plan at DaimlerChrysler even as its competitor BMW is gearing to set up a production base in India. Suhas Kadlaskar, Director (Corporate Affairs and Finance), told The Hindu that ``We want to move closer to customers.'' This kind of road shows helped the company to reach out to its customer, he added. ``We did not participate at the Delhi auto show this time,'' he pointed out. The auto shows usually attracted visitors and not customers, he felt.

Mr. Kadlaskar said DaimlerChrysler would take a lot of proactive initiatives though it had the first mover advantage in India. He conceded that BMW could enter India with some aggressive strategy.

He hinted at DaimlerChrysler coming out with more initiatives on the CRM (customer relationship management) front. He said the company would have to introduce the latest products in India in the least possible time.

While North India and South India accounted for 25 per cent each in the company's sales, the West's share is 30 per cent. The remainder comes from the rest. DaimlerChrysler sold 2,019 vehicles in 2005. Up to February this year, it had sold 137 units.

Wilfried Aulbur, Managing Director and CEO, said the customer base of Mercedez-Benz in India was growing in terms of the average of age of ownership. Young entrepreneurs, IT professionals and successful businessmen were attracted to the Mercedez-Benz brand, he added. The demand from non-metros was also increasing. Mr. Aulbur said the company was not expanding its dealership but only extending the reach. He said the company was looking at the bus segment, but added that no decision had been taken in this regard.

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