July 16, 2014: Mercedes Benz on Tuesday launched a new compact performance sedan, the CLA45AMG. The German luxury car maker launched this first sub crore sporty car at an ex-showroom price of Rs.68.5 lakhs. CLA 45, AMG has got the world’s most powerful 2-litre four-cylinder production engine that delivers 355 bhp and 450 nm of torque mated with a 7-speed transmission.
Speaking during the launch, Mercedes Benz India MD & CEO Eberhard Kern was quoted as saying, “We have seen immense potential in performance cars with the new generation of customers going for these sports cars for sheer driving pleasure.”
He further added, “The CLA is the most affordable and fully loaded sports sedan in India, making it an attractive buy in the luxury space. This is the first time Mercedes has launched an AMG variant before the regular production car, which is slated to hit the market in the next six months. The CLA has the potential to become the highest-selling model, and may steer ahead of our current top-sellers like the EClass and C-Class.”
Mercedes with this launch would be looking to catch the growing fascination of Indian customers towards sports cars and is targeted especially towards young customers who are looking to buy luxury cars. CLA45 AMG which is the seventh offering in the CLA series would be competing with other popular sports cars like BMW Z4 and Audi S4 and RS5.
In India there is a growing demand for these luxury cars and annually around 1,000 units are sold which reflects the growing demand for these cars. Car manufacturers like Audi, BMW and Mercedes off late have identified India as a potential market and making new launches and engaging in price war to grab market share. The launch of Mercedes CLA45AMG is surely going to take the market by storm because of an aggressive pricing strategy coupled with the tag ‘Most affordable AMG’ giving CLA-45 an edge over its rivals in this segment.
