Pune: The average selling price of Mercedes Benz India models in 2024 rose 6% to Rs 95 lakh over Rs 89 lakh in 2023 as buyers lapped up its top end models—those priced at Rs 1.5 crore and above, at a faster pace compared to the year before. Sales of such models that include the Maybach S Class, AMG, GLE to name a few, advanced 30% year-on-year.One in every four cars sold by the local arm of the German luxury carmaker during the year was a top-end one, said a top executive at the luxury car market leader. The weighted average price of Mercedes models was higher than the industry average—it was Rs 95,44,690 for Mercedes against Rs 90,60,996 for the industry, according to JATO Dynamics. “Our average selling prices have gone up significantly. It clearly shows that we are not selling on discount,” Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO, Mercedes Benz India told ET. The German luxury carmaker ended 2024 with a record sales of 19,565 units in 2024 against 17408 units last year, up 12.4% over 2023, outpacing the overall luxury car market in India. The segment grew 6% over the last year to 51,200 units. This is the slowest pace of growth seen in the last three years. “We have been driving the growth in luxury significantly, thanks to the new products, the new E Class, the new EVs that we launched,” said Iyer. On Thursday, Mercedes-Benz India introduced two new vehicles to its 2025 portfolio— the G 580 with EQ Tech—priced at Rs 3 crore and the EQS 450 5-seater SUV. Priced at Rs 1.28 crore (ex-showroom, India) the latter, positioned as a more affordable entry in the EQS SUV range, aims to broaden the appeal of the brand’s electric offerings in the country. It would serve as the entry-level variant to complement the existing EQS 580 4Matic and Maybach EQS 680 SUVs in India.The company’s EV penetration increased 6% and advanced 94% year-on-year, he said. The three-pointed star entered the new calendar with an order book of 2000 cars as some of its key top end models including the EQS SUV (seven-seater) were sold out till April. If not for the 16% growth clocked by Mercedes in the second half of 2024, the industry would have posted a decline, he noted. He steered clear of giving guidance for the current year. “The performance of the overall market is dependent on what other brands do. We are focused on our strategy.”In 2025, Mercedes, which sells every second luxury car in the country, plans to introduce eight models. This includes refreshed versions of the existing ones, special editions, and completely new models. “We have enough consumer demand, but the macro economy, geopolitical climate, along with exchange rate, will be the key monitorable,” said Iyer. With the company’s nil exposure to the dollar, the weakening of the rupee against the dollar will not have any impact on its costs, he said.In line with its growth plans for the current, Mercedes which presently has 125 touch points will add another 20 this year. Most of them will come up in cities such as Jammu, Patna, Kanpur, Agra where it currently doesn’t have a presence. Its 23 dealer partners will invest a total of Rs450 crore over the next couple of years, to transform the dealership to new luxury formats.