The Battle of the Germans

Spell the word L.U.X.U.R.Y and the names that comes to mind immediately are Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi. These three German brands have ruled the luxury automotive market across the globe and continue to do so in amazing fashion. Amongst them, Mercedes-Benz was one of the very first automakers to set up shop in India in the mid 90's once Indian market opened up for globalization. They had this first-mover advantage going with them and up until two years back, Mercedes-Benz was ruling the market with absolutely no competition to boast of in the luxury segment in India. If you were looking for status, you had to have a car with the 3 pointed star (Mercedes-Benz). Period!

But the arrival of BMW and Audi in recent years has now put the leader under pressure. To clearly put things in perspective, BMW, in just its second full year of operations in India has taken the leadership away from Mercedes-Benz. By the end of this year, BMW would have sold more cars in 2009 than MB which has been around for more than a decade. Audi is also not far behind these two! BMW has clearly stated in all its press releases and interviews that it wants to take and maintain leadership in the luxury segment in India. Now that it has already achieved it, we can expect Mercedes-Benz to come back with a bang and give a shot at the title with a renewed vengeance. It has already lined up its stunning all-new E-Class for launch in this festive season and promises much more in store. Audi (along with its parent VW) is also having a very aggressive strategy in India and has lined up many releases including new versions of the breathtakingly beautiful A4.

The fight between these three German marques will ensure that the ultimate winner is the customer. A few years back, people who had big wallets had no choice but to buy a car with the 3 pointed star or pay 200% duty for an import. The ensuing battle between these three Germans makes them launch their very best and all-new models here in India along with the rest of the world and makes sure that the customers are spoilt for choice. Add Jaguar and Volvo to this list and the choice of cars is seemingly endless.

Lets hope and pray that this battle goes on forever so that we Indians get to lay our hands on the very best on offer across the globe.