WE ARE INVESTING IN EVS NOT FOR THE CURRENT VOLUMES BUT FOR THE FUTURE

In an interview with Storyboard18, Santosh Iyer, VP - sales and marketing, Mercedes-Benz India, spotlights the challenges of marketing an electric future and the key trends to watch for in 2022

How has the equation with your customer changed in the post-pandemic era?

The equation has changed for sure. After wave one and two the interest in sustainable products has gone up. During the pandemic and lockdowns people have witnessed nature reviving. Everybody realised that the automobile, as a category, is also responsible to society, especially in the chaos that we are in today, be it noise or air pollution. Somewhere there is an increased awareness for sustainability and sustainable products. Responsible customers are ready to pay a premium for it as well.

Sustainability is also about data and security as well. There is a lot of discussion about how data is secured since many of these cars are connected. Moreover, customers are becoming increasingly aware and they want brands to really take their consent before marketing technology (martech) tools such as retargeting campaigns are being activated.

What are the key demands and concerns of luxury customers in India?

Luxury customers get excited by products. Globally, we have more than five kinds of EVs. The biggest question that we keep getting from Indian customers is when are we bringing the entire EV portfolio to the country. They want more options; they want more products. That’s why we want competition to come up with more products and the ecosystem to develop as fast as possible which will help all players in the long run.