German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz will begin local production of its ultra-luxury SUV, the GLS Maybach, in India, making the country the only market outside the US to roll out the model, according to a top company official.
The move follows India emerging as a top-five global market for Mercedes-Benz’s ultra-luxury Maybach range in 2025, Mercedes-Benz India Managing Director and CEO Santosh Iyer told PTI in an interview.
Outlining the company’s plans for 2026, Iyer said Mercedes-Benz has lined up 12 new product launches in India this year, even as the luxury car segment is expected to grow in single digits amid pricing pressure caused by adverse currency fluctuations.
Mercedes-Benz India, which reported marginally lower total sales of 19,007 units in 2025 compared to 2024, is also expanding its electric vehicle ecosystem by introducing ‘MB.Charge Public’ in India. The service, currently available in 37 countries, is aimed at helping EV owners more easily locate fast chargers and make payments as part of the company’s broader electrification strategy.
“We have climbed into the top five global markets for Maybach in the world for the first time in 2025...the largest-selling Maybach in India is the GLS Maybach. This model currently comes from the US, but we are localising the GLS Maybach in India,” Iyer said.
He added that localisation will lead to a significant price reduction for the model. “As a result of the localisation,” he said, the GLS Maybach will be priced at Rs 2.75 crore, compared with the current price of Rs 3.17 crore.
China, the US, South Korea and Germany are the other top global markets for the Maybach range, apart from India.
Responding to a question on the potential impact of ongoing tariff issues between the US and India on the localisation plans, Iyer said, “We are a multinational company doing trade across boundaries and regions, and we have to adapt to whatever is happening...” Mercedes-Benz currently produces the GLS Maybach at its Tuscaloosa plant in Alabama for all global markets. The plan to locally assemble the model in India comes amid a broader push by US President Donald Trump for companies to manufacture within the US.
Clarifying the company’s position, Iyer said, “We are not stopping production (of GLS Maybach) in the US, that is going to continue. This (assembling in India) is more for the local requirement.”
On product launches, Iyer said, “We have a clear focus to introduce 12 new cars in 2026.” Mercedes-Benz has already kicked off its 2026 launch programme with the Mercedes-Maybach GLS ‘Celebration Edition’ priced at Rs 4.10 crore. It has also launched the EQS SUV ‘Celebration Edition’, priced from Rs 1.34 crore for the five-seater and Rs 1.48 crore for the seven-seater.
Commenting on sales performance in 2025, Iyer said the company recorded a marginal decline to 19,007 units as it chose to prioritise growth in its top-end and core segments rather than participate in aggressive price competition in the entry-level luxury category.
Sales of top-end vehicles (TEVs), priced above Rs 1.5 crore, rose by 11 per cent and accounted for 25 per cent of all Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in India last year, he said.
On electric vehicles, Iyer noted, “Sales grew by 12 per cent, and in terms of penetration of EVs in the portfolio, it will be around 8-9 per cent, but more importantly, in the top-end segment, the EV penetration has gone up to 20 per cent.” Looking ahead to 2026, he added, “For the overall luxury segment, we are still looking at single-digit growth.”
He said rising input costs due to the depreciation of the rupee against the euro have forced the company to increase prices. Mercedes-Benz has already announced plans to hike prices by 2 per cent every quarter in 2026.
“There is still over 10 per cent forex impact to be passed on even after hiking prices by 1 per cent in Q1 and 2 per cent each in Q2 and Q3 of last year,” Iyer said, adding that while the mass market has benefited from GST 2.0, the luxury segment has seen those gains partly offset by foreign exchange pressures.
On ‘MB.Charge Public’, Iyer said the service will be available at over 9,000 DC charging points and will be accessible to all existing Mercedes-Benz battery electric vehicle customers at no additional cost. The company said the platform integrates multiple charging partners and offers real-time charger availability, seamless payment options and charging history tracking.
