In December, 2015 the Supreme Court issued an order a ban on the registration of diesel vehicles over 2000cc in Delhi. While the order was originally meant to be applicable till March 31, 2016, it has now turned into an indefinite embargo on big diesel vehicles in the national capital. Though the apex court is pursuing the possibility of lifting the ban in lieu of a one-time environment cess, there is no denying the order has taken a toll on several manufacturers such as Mahindra, Toyota, and Mercedes-Benz. Mahindra found a way around the stoppage via the introduction of 1.99-litre engines, and now Mercedes-Benz is preparing to tide over the ban too.
The German luxury automaker intends to introduce petrol iterations of all the models in its Indian line-up by September. However, the company is confident that a solution regarding the diesel ban in the region, which is among its key markets in the country, will be found soon.
Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “We will be complete with petrol engines in September. Then we will have basically a petrol variant in each of our carlines available. It was a decision we made in the middle of last year.” He went on to add, “Ten years ago roughly we had only petrol engines so it’s not that unusual for us. It gives customer a choice it is not so much about new segment really.”
Mercedes-Benz recently launched its sixth vehicle in India this year – the Mercedes-AMG SLC 43. The two-seater roadster, which is also the tenth AMG product in India, comes powered by 3-litre V6 bi-turbo petrol engine that offers 367bhp for power and develops a massive torque of 520Nm.
PTI