The CLA is the 7th Mercedes model to be locally produced in India and offers benefits of Rs. 1-2 lakhs on the entry-level luxury sedan depending on the variant.
Optimising sales for the festive season, Mercedes-Benz India has commenced local production for the CLA sedan in the country at its Chakan based facility. The premium compact luxury sedan is the seventh product in the German automaker’s portfolio to be locally assembled in the country and is the second product based on the MFA platform after the GLA SUV. This also makes India the second market outside Europe where the CLA will be locally produced. In addition to the new CLA, Mercedes has commenced production for the GLA 200 Sport petrol in India as well.
With local assembly commenced, Mercedes says it can cater to the increasing demand faster for the CLA sedan, thereby reducing the waiting period by a considerable margin. The local production has also helped the automaker pass on benefits of Rs. 1-2 lakhs on the sedan and SUV depending on the variant. The move also comes at a time when Audi introduced the new Premium variant for the A3 sedan in the same segment with a lower asking price just days ago. However, given the stunning design language and features of the CLA, the sedan is already the better seller between the two despite the premium price tag.
Investing a total of Rs. 1000 crores, Mercedes-Benz became the first luxury car manufacturer to make such a large investment in the Indian market and started its second production phase at the Chakan plant with new assembly lines earlier this year. The GLA 200 CDI diesel was the first product to be locally assembled at the plant from June 2015 and the petrol variant completes the SUV lineup. The locally produced CLA sedan gets no changes in terms of specifications with power coming from a 2.0-litre petrol motor producing 183 HP while the 2.2-litre diesel churns out 136 HP.
2015 Mercedes-Benz CLA Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) –
* CLA 200 CDI Style – Rs. 30.70 lakhs
* CLA 200 Sport Petrol – Rs. 32.90 lakhs
* CLA 200 CDI Sport – Rs. 33.90 lakhs
2015 Mercedes-Benz GLA Prices (ex-showroom, Delhi) –
* GLA 200 Sport Petrol – Rs. 33.90 lakhs
* GLA 200 CDI Style – Rs. 31.31 lakhs
* GLA 200 CDI Sport – Rs. 34.25 lakhs
