The Luxury EV Innovator
You're reading Entrepreneur India, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.
With strong local manufactur ing, a growing charging infra structure, and an unrelenting focus on premium experi ence, Mercedes-Benz India under Santosh Iyer is not just keeping pace with global EV trends — it's setting the benchmark for luxury electrification in one of the world's most dynamic markets. According to Iyer, the company's early and consistent focus on top-end luxury battery electric vehicles (BEVs) has helped accelerate segment adop tion.
"We continue to redefine the top-end luxury BEV segment with an unparalleled blend of technology and luxury appointments," he explains. The result? A 73% year-to-date growth in BEV sales as of May 2025 — significantly outpacing the 66% growth in the overall luxury BEV segment. The demand is being fueled by vehicles like the EQS range, the EQS Maybach SUV, and the G580 with EQ Technology — all of which exemplify opulence, performance, and electric engineering. "EV adoption is a long journey," says Iyer. "We must take our customers and partners along in this transition." From home to dealership to road trips, the company ensures 24x7 charging support across more than 50 DC fast chargers (60–180 kW) installed countrywide. Interestingly, the Indian luxury EV landscape is evolving in a distinct way.
"In India, BEV adoption is largely driven by strong demand for top-end BEVs, which is unique and underlines our custom ers' preferences," notes Iyer. This aligns seamlessly with the brand's global 'Ambition 2039' mission — aiming for a carbon-neutral and digitally connected future. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz is the only luxury car maker currently producing two world-class BEVs in India — the EQS 580 4MATIC sedan and the EQS 450 SUV, reinforcing its local commitment without compromising on product substance or quality.
Meeting the expectations of Indian luxury consumers means prioritizing range, performance, and charging convenience. Iyer proudly recalls the Made-in-India EQS 580 that set a Guinness World Record in 2024, traveling 949 km from Bengaluru to Mumbai on a single charge — a tangible testa ment to its engineering prowess.
"Using a luxury BEV is embracing future tech nology," he reflects. "The learning curve is steep, but rewarding." Despite its remarkable progress, Iyer acknowl edges the barriers to rapid EV adoption: high up front costs, inconsistent state policies on road tax, patchy fast-charging networks, and lack of a unified digital payment interface. "These factors continue to deter luxury BEV customers from switching faster," he notes.
Yet, each year sees measurable improvements. The fact that BEVs already account for 8% of Mercedes-Benz India's overall sales, with rising momentum in 2025, signals a tipping point ahead. EVs aren't just about batteries — they're about brains. Iyer emphasizes the cultural transfor mation needed to steer a traditional auto OEM into a future-ready tech-driven entity. "Agility, flatter hierarchies, and faster market adaptability are essential," he asserts.
"With shorter product cycles and rapidly evolving technology, in novation and software integration will become key differentiators." Looking ahead, Iyer is pragmatic but optimistic. While market transformation will dictate the pace, the Mercedes-Benz BEV portfolio is expected to grow steadily in volume and desirability.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
23 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Hor Kew's (SGX:BBP) five-year earnings growth trails the 45% YoY shareholder returns
We think all investors should try to buy and hold high quality multi-year winners. While the best companies are hard to find, but they can generate massive returns over long periods. To wit, the Hor Kew Corporation Limited (SGX:BBP) share price has soared 515% over five years. And this is just one example of the epic gains achieved by some long term investors. It's also good to see the share price up 87% over the last quarter. We love happy stories like this one. The company should be really proud of that performance! After a strong gain in the past week, it's worth seeing if longer term returns have been driven by improving fundamentals. This technology could replace computers: discover the 20 stocks are working to make quantum computing a reality. There is no denying that markets are sometimes efficient, but prices do not always reflect underlying business performance. By comparing earnings per share (EPS) and share price changes over time, we can get a feel for how investor attitudes to a company have morphed over time. Over half a decade, Hor Kew managed to grow its earnings per share at 72% a year. The EPS growth is more impressive than the yearly share price gain of 44% over the same period. Therefore, it seems the market has become relatively pessimistic about the company. This cautious sentiment is reflected in its (fairly low) P/E ratio of 4.78. You can see below how EPS has changed over time (discover the exact values by clicking on the image). Dive deeper into Hor Kew's key metrics by checking this interactive graph of Hor Kew's earnings, revenue and cash flow. What About Dividends? As well as measuring the share price return, investors should also consider the total shareholder return (TSR). Whereas the share price return only reflects the change in the share price, the TSR includes the value of dividends (assuming they were reinvested) and the benefit of any discounted capital raising or spin-off. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, Hor Kew's TSR for the last 5 years was 542%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments! A Different Perspective It's nice to see that Hor Kew shareholders have received a total shareholder return of 168% over the last year. And that does include the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 45% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. While it is well worth considering the different impacts that market conditions can have on the share price, there are other factors that are even more important. Even so, be aware that Hor Kew is showing 1 warning sign in our investment analysis , you should know about... Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings. Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Singaporean exchanges. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
42 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Google launches AI Mode in the UK amid ‘major shift' in online search
Google has unveiled the UK rollout of a new artificial intelligence-powered tool it believes will revolutionise the traditional online search. Hailed as its most 'powerful AI search to date', the US tech giant is launching AI Mode in Google Search across the UK this week, allowing users to ask lengthy and complicated questions, as well as follow-ups. AI Mode will start to appear as a tab on the Google Search results page and in the Google app for Android and Apple smartphones from Tuesday, and will be available to all UK users over the next few days. The function was launched in the US at the end of May, followed by India earlier in July, and comes in addition to Google's AI Overview, which is now built into its searches. Hema Budaraju, Google's vice president of product management for search, told the PA news agency it heralds a 'major shift' in the way people are using online searches, with questions now becoming longer and more complex. In a blog announcing the launch, Ms Budaraju said: 'AI Mode is a new, intuitive way to address your most complex, multi-part questions and follow-ups, and satisfy your curiosity in a richer way.' She added: 'AI Mode is particularly helpful for exploratory questions and for more complicated tasks like comparing products, planning a trip or understanding complex how-tos. 'In fact, we've found that early users of AI Mode are asking questions that are two or three times the length of traditional search queries.' The tool is powered by Google's latest AI model, Gemini 2.5, and allows users to ask nuanced questions that would have previously required multiple searches. The new search works by breaking down questions into sub-topics and sending out a range of queries on the behalf of users. It will also allow so-called multimodal searches, either by text, voice or pictures. Ms Budaraju said it should make it possible for people to 'find information that was previously much harder to find'. 'This is the beginning of a major shift,' she told PA. Google said it was improving factuality, but that where AI Mode is not confident in the answer, it will instead provide a set of web search results. 'And as with any early-stage AI product, we won't always get it right, but we are committed to continuous improvement,' Ms Budaraju said.
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Bloomberg
Jane Street to Argue That Retail Demand Drove Its India Trades
Jane Street Group LLC is expected to argue that its controversial Indian options trades were a response to outsized demand from retail investors, people familiar with the matter said. The trading giant has been working on its defense against market manipulation allegations from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. The regulator in early July alleged Jane Street had taken large positions that artificially influenced prices in the country's stock and futures markets, moving them in favor of its options bets on multiple days.
