Mercedes-Benz to Bring Plug-in Hybrids to India

Launch to help carmaker gauge consumer interest in technology that's considered a bridge between ICE and EV

- 

MERCEDES-BENZ IS SET TO bring its first plugin hybrid to India by December, diversifying its powertrain beyond internal combustion engines (ICE) and electric vehicles (EVs), as it gauges consumer appetite for the transitional technology. The model will debut in the S-Class and will be priced around ₹2.2-2.3 crore, marginally above the BMW i7, which starts from ₹2.05 crore.

Plugin hybrids, which combine ICE with a battery that can be externally charged, are seen as a bridge between conventional cars and fully electric models. They offer limited electric-only driving that's fit for daily use while retaining a fuel engine for longer distances.

“We want to start with the S-Class because customers in that segment can pay a premium. It'll be offered in the flagship S-Class and S-Class Maybach,” Santosh Iyer, managing director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, tells Forbes India.

On the kind of volumes he expects from plugins, Iyer says the launch is about gauging demand. “This is more to see consumer response and based on the feedback, we can bring it to other models.”

India’s largest luxury carmaker will import the plugin hybrid as a completely built unit and take a decision on localising it based on the demand.

There are primarily three kinds of hybrids: Mild hybrids where a small electric motor merely assists the petrol engine, strong hybrids where the electric motor can genuinely power the car at low speeds and deliver fuel efficiency gains, and plugin hybrids where the vehicle's battery has to be plugged in to charge it, just like in an EV. On the benefits of plugins over regular hybrids, Iyer says plugins offer a practical solution in India: They give consumers the flexibility to run their car on either engine or battery while still giving them a taste of what living with an EV is like.