German based luxury car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz has recently launched its global pre-owned car business for India: “Proven Exclusivity”. This program utilizes specific global benchmarks for vehicle evaluation, quality and warranty to offer Mercedes-Benz certified pre-owned cars to Aulbur, Managing Director, and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India elaborated: “Comprehensive evaluation and refurbishment criteria, scientific tools for audit and inspection as well as manufacturer backed warranty go into the making of a certified ‘Proven Exclusivity’ vehicle. The dream of owning a Mercedes-Benz thus becomes even more achievable. At the same time customers can also drive in their existing vehicles and drive out with their new Mercedes-Benz cars by utilizing the trade-in route under ‘Proven Exclusivity’”.
The pre-owned cars will be offered for sale through the authorized Mercedes-Benz dealerships where the customer will receive additional support in areas such as financing, documentation and delivery. Mercedes-Benz Pre-owned cars program has been in existence since 2009 and operates across 35 countries presently. Mercedes-Benz as a brand and a company has enjoyed a very strong equity in the market. Its legendary build, quality and reliability as well as engineering and craftsmanship guarantees a favourable residual value and strong demand in the pre-owned car market. At the same time, for over 15 years with its presence in India, the company sold approx 30,000 vehicles thereby creating a significant potential for the Mercedes-Benz pre-owned car market in India. The pre-owned car market in India is estimated at approx 10-15% of current new car sales in 2010 and estimated to substantially grow for the next couple of years. On the other hand, Skoda Yeti, Tata Aria, Nissan Micra and Volkswagen Vento are the upcoming cars in India.