Mercedes Benz India will evaluate the possibility of bringing hybrid cars to India though it believes battery electric vehicles (BEV)s are the future.

The company, which plans to launch three new BEVs in India in the coming year, believes the EV business is a marathon race and not a sprint.

Talking to The Telegraph, Lance Bennett, vice-president of marketing and sales of Mercedes Benz India, said, "We are happy with the EV momentum in India. About 6 per cent of our sales in FY 24 has been from EVs. We plan to launch a wider spectrum of EVs in the coming year and we are doing our bit in educating customers regarding electrification and spreading our charging network."

When asked about the global slowdown in EV sales, Bennett said: "The sale of Mercedes BEVs in India grew by 130 per cent and our electric penetration is more than 6 per cent. We are getting good enquiries for our existing electric portfolio that includes the EQB, the EQE and the EQS."

The company is planning to launch the EQS Maybach, one of the three BEVs to be launched in the second half of the year.

"The EQE, an electric SUV is the highest seller among our EVs," said Benett confirming that even among EVs, it is the SUV bodytype that is the most popular.

The SUV march continues for Mercedes as 60 per cent of its annual sales came from SUVs. And the waiting period for the GLA, GLC and GLS ranged from two months to more than a year.

While announcing its FY 24 sales performance and its strategy in the coming year, Santosh Iyer, managing director and CEO, said: "We will launch nine new products including the AMG S 63 e-Performance, C 63 e-Performance which will be launched by June 2024 and the New E-Class LWB launch by end of the year."

He said the company has sold out the old E-Class LWB and it was down to the last few units. The new E-Class LWB will only be launched by the end of the year.

Top-end vehicles (TEV)s with sticker prices above Rs 1.5 crore contributed 25 per cent to the sales, while vehicles priced between Rs 60 lakh and Rs 1.5 crore contributed 60 per cent, entry-level vehicles priced between Rs 45 lakh and Rs 60 lakh made up the rest 15 per cent.