'75% G-Wagons sold in India are personalised': Santosh Iyer explains Mercedes' 'hyper-custom' strategy

Time of India

6 hours ago

Mercedes' R&D head Manu Saale and India head Santosh Iyer with the G63 Collector's Edition.
Based on an interaction with Arpit Mahendra.
Mercedes-Benz India
is focusing on
hyper-personalisation
as part of its strategy, as seen in the recently launched AMG G63 Collector's Edition. We spoke with Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, and Manu Saale, Managing Director & CEO of Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), about how customer preferences are changing, the engineering work that goes into these special editions, and how the brand is growing in the electric vehicle space in India.
Hyper-Personalisation is more than just a buzzword
Mercedes-Benz is betting big on personalisation, both in the physical and digital departments. 'The
G63 AMG
is the largest selling engine in our portfolio, and 75% of the Gs we sell in India are personalized,' said Santosh Iyer. Taking this a step further, the G63 Grand Edition allows customers to engrave their names (or even those of family members) on the car's grab handle. This is the first time the company has offered such customisation in India.
But the idea of hyper-personalisation doesn't end with physical modifications. As Manu Saale explained, 'The word hyper-personalisation also has a digital spin… all the Mercedes cars, with the MB OS architecture, allow you to personalise so many things in the car, just like a consumer electronic device would - except it's done the Mercedes way.'
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India-specific design, engineering behind collector's edition
The G63 Collector's Edition offers a host of India-specific customized upgrades over the model, including two new colour options. Speaking on how the specific changes were planned and executed, Saale explained 'The brief to the engineering teams was: within a given timeframe, what inspiration can we draw from around us?'
'One of the first ideas was the onset of the monsoon season. The Manufacturer Green and Manufacturer Red colours were inspired by the lush greenery and the colour of Indian soil.' Behind the execution lies Indian R&D. 'The engineering was done out of Pune and Mangalore,' Saale noted, pointing out the collaborative effort of their design and R&D teams in India.
On the capability front, Saale spoke about a key update: 'For the first time, we have introduced launch control in the G63 AMG with this edition. It's an addition to the collector's edition, and going forward we may bring more such performance features in future editions.'
Demand for customisation highest in G-Class, Maybach models
While the brand's ultra-luxury customers continue to demand unique customer-specific touches, some models lead the way. 'The G63 AMG sees the highest level of customisation: over 75% of them are personalised. The
S-Class Maybach
is around 50%, followed by the GLS Maybach,' said Iyer.
However, this level of customisation is largely limited to fully imported (CBU) models like the G-Class and Maybach range. 'For the rest of the lineup, these cars are built to stock. At the top end, customers are willing to pay and wait six to nine months. But as you go lower down the pyramid, customers want quick delivery, and so there is less scope for customisation,' Iyer explained.
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While the G63 Collector's Edition is a visual and aesthetic upgrade, both Iyer and Saale made it clear that the future could include more technical upgrades. 'MBRDI today is the largest R&D centre for Mercedes outside of Germany,' said Saale. 'There's a bit of India in every Mercedes. It's just up to our imagination what we can do.'
With just 30 units planned for India, the Grand Edition isn't for everyone. 'It's not exactly invite-only,' Iyer clarified, 'but customers must own another top-end Mercedes. It's on a first-come, first-served basis, and delivery begins later this year. Once a customer books, we initiate consultations for engraving, font selections, and other customisation details.'
G-Class EV reception strong, EV sales soaring
Speaking on electrification, Iyer said the company's EV push is seeing strong traction in India. 'The luxury EV segment grew 66% (Jan–May, YoY), and we grew 73%. EV penetration in the luxury segment has gone up from 7% to 11%,' he revealed.
While the EQS and EQS SUV are current volume drivers, Iyer also highlighted the success of the G-Class EV. 'India is one of the best-performing markets for it globally,' he said, adding that strong incentives and better price parity between ICE and EVs are helping push sales.