Mercedes-Benz India expected to discontinue the S500
At Hyderabad today, we witnessed the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class S400. Touted as a more practical variant of the super-luxury saloon, the S400 gets a smaller engine and is priced at Rs 1.31 crore (ex-Hyderabad). There, however, are talks that the German luxury car manufacturer will discontinue the bigger-engined S500 in favour of the new S400 petrol.
Mercedes states that there was a strong demand for a S-Class at the Rs 1.25-1.30 crore mark. The S400 slots between the S350 CDI and the S500 and is priced Rs 25 - 30 lakh lower than the S500. Not to forget, with a smaller 3-litre V6 petrol engine, the S400 is expected to have better running costs than the S500. The Mercedes-Benz S400 also has almost the same feature list as the S500.
While there is no official statement from Mercedes-Benz India, yet, their official website currently displays only the S350d and S400 variants. The S500, dealers tell us, will be available on a made-to-order basis only. The brand has started taking official bookings of the S400 from today and deliveries are expected to start soon as well.