Mercedes-Benz is still feeling the effects of the global semiconductor shortage that hit the auto industry as well as supply chain constraints. As per a report by PTI, the carmaker is not expecting the situation to improve in 2022 while also saying that it was hard to predict how it would change in the future.
Speaking to PTI, Martin Schwenk, Managing Director and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India said that the company was dealing with not just semiconductor shortages but also with congestion in shipping. He added that the company was facing significant supply constraints placing a limit on the number of cars it could produce and deliver causing longer waiting period for its customers. Schwenk also revealed that the global economic uncertainties and go-political tensions seemed to have worsened over the past few months with a lot of questions being raised across markets regarding the economic situations in the short-to-medium terms.
Schwenk however said that while the brand was facing uncertainty over its production levels, the global economic uncertainties and geopolitical crisis was yet to affect consumer sentiment in India. The carmaker said that it has over 5,000 pending orders on its hands currently in the country with the number of bookings continuing to increase.
He however said that the company in the past few months had been forced to hiked prices on several occasions owing to rising input costs and the company was continuing to monitor topics such as inflation and pricing.
Mercedes has some big launches lined up for India in the coming months including its all-electric flagship, the EQS luxury sedan and the EQB electric SUV. The carmaker at the start of the year had revealed its plans to launch 10 new models in India in 2022 which has till now included the new Mercedes-Maybach S-Class and the new-gen C-Class.