The growing demand for armoured – bullet proof – cars in India has prompted luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz to add a third one to its repertoire of special protection vehicles on offer here. On Wednesday, the Company announced the launch of the M-Guard SUV at a price of ₹2.49 crore (ex-showroom Delhi).
Though Mercedes assembles the M-Class at its plant in India, the M-Guard that has a V8 engine, 7G-Tronic transmission and 4-matic drive system, will be brought in as a completely built unit. Sourced from its plant in Tascalousa in the US, the vehicle is sent to the armouring plant in Mexico where the entire passenger cell gets special protection with steel and shatter-proof window glass, which can range from 25 to 60 mm in thickness.
A video on the new product playing at the Expo shows a hand grenade detonating under the car, which continues to remain unaffected.
“It is an extremely niche product, but we see certain demand in India,” says Markus Reubenbauer, head, Sales and Marketing for Mercedes-Benz Guard. The whole passenger cell is protected by steel and ballistic glass, and the run-flat tyres are thicker and can run without air for 80-odd km.
The protection adds nearly 350 kg to the weight of the SUV and drivers have to be trained to driver it.
“We take two drivers to Germany where they are trained not in tactical driving but on technical aspects like braking systems, electrical systems etc,” he explains.
Interestingly, worldwide, the greatest demand for armoured cars comes from Latin America where the market size is approximately 20,000 units per year. Mercedes-Benz has four Guard cars in its portfolio globally – the S, E, M and G-Wagon. All are available in India except the G-Wagon Guard as it is not produced as a right hand drive version.