Mercedes Benz is taking pampering the Indian customer to newer heights in both a literal as well as a figurative manner of speaking with the launch of a helipad in the premises of its Chakan factory

The company has also developed a Centre of Excellence (CoE) where buyers can see and customise high-end cars like the AMG range for themselves.

While the German luxury car maker has similar customisation Centres in some other countries, India is the only one worldwide, where customers can actually fly in with choppers, experience the car they might want to buy on a specially designed track, and then decide on specifics like exterior, colour, upholstery, pedals and even the colour of the seams.

While it could take a day-trip for the buying decision, the customised car could take four to six months for the actual delivery after the booking.

Customers who are buying such expensive wheels (costing over a crore), do not want stock cars, but want them to be individualised, says Matthias Lührs, Chairman of the Board of Management, Mercedes-Benz India and Vice-President, global sales, of the parent company.

"Providing access to the CoE by chopper was based on customer feedback and requests. This is a good example of what we are looking it – headlining 2014 as the Year of Excellence," said Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO, Mercedes Benz India.

On display at the CoE are high performance cars like the SLS AMG, SLK 55 AMG, SLK-Class and CLS-Class amongst others. It also facilitates customers view the personalised car they have configured on a screen with the use of an iConfigurator.

Amongst MB’s other new initiatives is a pilot for on-line sales for pre-configured cars launched in Hamburg earlier this month, to be followed with one in Warsaw. "We will look at the experience and roll it out throughout the world, only through leasing and pre-configured cars," Luhrs said.

In India, Mercedes Benz has had a robust July-Sep quarter with sales touching 2700 units. "We have made a strong come back in Q3," Eberhard Kern, MD and CEO said, adding that the compact hatchbacks A and B-Class had contributed 20% to its numbers since June. The company expects to close 2013 with 30% sales growth over the 7138 units it sold in 2012, he said.

From a global perspective, Mercedes expects nearly 50% of its total sales to come from emerging markets, and has a target of re-gaining its number one position in the premium segment by 2020. “In India that would happen earlier,” Luhrs asserted.

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