Mercedes-Benz India rolls out the locally-assembled GL 350 CDI
Mercedes-Benz India has rolled out the locally assembled GL 350 CDI. The SUV is priced approximately Rs 5 lakh cheaper than the CBU GL at Rs 72.58 lakh, ex-Pune. The Indian assembly is only the second plant outside Tuscaloosa, USA where the Mercedes GL class SUV will roll out from. Mercedes claims that the initial 100 units of the 'launch edition' have already been sold out.
Other specifications including the 258PS/630Nm V6 engine and 7-speed automatic transmission remain the same. The GL 350 does a 0-100 km dash in close to 10 seconds. The Chakan plant has an annual capacity of 10,000 units; it also rolls out four other CKD units namely, the C-Class, E-Class, S-Class and the ML-Class. Merc will take a call on assembling more cars next year, which may be the A-Class and B-Class. It is also planning to double the plant's annual capacity to 20,000 units by 2014.
Eberhard Kern, managing director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India said, "The fullsize luxury SUV is a fast growing segment in the Indian automotive industry and the new GL-Class that we launched in India in May 2013, has a strong presence and is already sold out. Local production of the GL-Class will provide immense value addition and benefits to our valued customers in the form of easier production availability and flexible production scheduling, ensuring an unbeatable value proposition and appeal to this luxurious SUV. The GL-Class 350 CDI which is also known as the S-Class amongst SUVs, is the first GL-Class ever to be offered from a local production outside."
Our road test of the new Mercedes GL 350 CDI is here