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From being a brand that has traditionally associated luxury with wealth and framed itself within a class-led social hierarchical system, Mercedes Benz is looking to define itself afresh, for its millennial buyers. With a new campaign Mercedes Benz wants the young to be ‘restless for tomorrow’ or in other words, pull the brand off their wish lists and drop it into the purchase cart. Santosh Iyer, vice president, sales and marketing at Mercedes Benz India says “One clear insight from the market research was the spirit of restlessness. It’s not about been-there-done-that any more. People are constantly challenging themselves, be it a start-up or an established business. They aren’t averse to risks.” The company’s market research indicated that new buyers are unlikely follow the traditional purchase route that used to be to first buy a mass market model and then upgrade to a luxury brand. Iyer says that close to 10 per cent of auto buyers are those that are straight away buyin...

Despite the push for electric vehicles and sustainability, the market share for automobiles will be dominated by internal combustion engine (ICE)-driven cars for at least a decade for a multitude of reasons, top-most of which is the absence of an accompanying charging infrastructure across the nation. According to research by IHS Markit, for an ecosystem still grappling with infrastructural issues, high costs of EVs and a greater OEM focus on electrifying two-wheelers and commercial vehicles, the share for such vehicles would be at four per cent by 2030. The passenger-car market in India has seen sales volumes of over three million units during the past few years. A study by Crisil Research shows that by 2024, 43-48 per cent of new three-wheelers (excluding e-rickshaws), and 12-17 per cent of new two-wheelers sold in India will be electric vehicles but traction may be low for four-wheelers, with only five per cent of new sales likely to be Evs. Read Complete Articl...

While 2019 started off with expectations of Huawei Technologies challenging Samsung Electronics for the title of world’s most prolific smartphone vendor, it’s the more familiar foe of Apple that’s now threatening the South Korean titan’s throne. Industry trackers on Thursday released estimates that show the iPhone maker close to matching or surpassing its Korean rival in shipments during the pivotal holiday quarter. Strategy Analytics put Apple’s iPhone shipments for the fourth quarter at 70.7 million, slightly ahead of Samsung’s 68.8 million. Canalys gauged the US firm had moved 78 million, surpassing the Asian brand’s 71 million. And researchers at IHS Markit have the positions flipped —with Samsung at 70.7 million and Apple at 67.7 million. Research firms are forced to estimate because Apple stopped providing its own iPhone figures a year ago, while Samsung gives a total number that includes smartphones and feature phones. The consensus, however, is that there’s ess...