It was previously expected that Mercedes Benz would be bringing the GLB SUV to India but now the carmaker has confirmed that the GLB will not be launched in India. Mercedes has four other new launches coming up in the months ahead.
It was previously speculated that Mercedes Benz will be bringing the GLB SUV to India. The Mercedes GLB sits in between the GLA and the GLC in the brand’s global lineup and ever since it was introduced last year just before the Frankfurt Motor Show, it has been grabbing a lot of eyeballs. Many luxury car buyers here in India were actually looking forward for the GLB to arrive in India but now, Mercedes has confirmed that the GLB is destined for India.
In an interview with carandbike, Santosh Iyer, Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Mercedes-Benz India has confirmed that there are no plans to get the GLB in the market. Iyer said,” We don’t have any CKD for that car, so technically we cannot get it in India unfortunately and to get it as CBU we’re not sure how the pricing will work. Right now there are no plans worldwide for a CKD on the GLB so as of now we’ve to give that a go for India.”
As it turns out, the reason for the GLB not making it to India is the unavailability of Completely Knocked Down (CKD) kits for the SUV. The Mercedes Benz GLB is based on the MFA-2 (modular front architecture) that underpins many other cars from the manufacturer including the A-Class and the GLA. In fact, the GLB is mostly a GLA but with an additional row of seats. Yes, that was the main differentiating factor of the GLB – a third row of seats – and that is why it would have made great sense for India. Although not very spacious, it still had the very important third row.
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Moreover, the coronavirus crisis has further damped things as manufacturers will now be looking at investments in new products and manufacturing capacities more stringently. Nevertheless, there’s still a lot happening at Mercedes Benz India and they have as many as four new vehicles lined up for a launch in India as soon as the country has overcome the coronavirus crisis. What’s more, a majority of them are indeed SUVs.
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The first SUV to come out of the German manufacturer’s stable will be the all-new flagship GLS SUV and that’s scheduled for its launch right after the lockdown is lifted. Going further, we will have the A-Class limousine in the third quarter of 2020 and the all-new GLA has its launch scheduled in the forth quarter of 2020. In between, Mercedes will also be debuting their EQ electric brand in India with the EQC and that is expected to happen in the second half of 2020. Going ahead in 2021, Mercedes also has updates for the E-Class and S-Class sedans in store for India. Although the GLB does not make it India unfortunately, there’s certainly a lot to look forward to from Mercedes Benz in India.
The post Mercedes Rules Out the GLB For India; Other Launches in the Horizon appeared first on Car Blog India.
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