Mercedes-Benz celebrates three years of its pre-owned brand

Words by Afzal Rawuther

Mercedes-Benz today celebrated completing three years of its pre-owned brand- Mercedes-Benz Certified. Over the course of three years the brand has sold more than 12,000 pre-owned luxury cars through its Mercedes-Benz Certified pre-owned dealerships. The brand has now become the largest organised pre-owned luxury car vendor in India registering a 60 per cent growth in India since its inception. The cars under ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ go through a stringent 139-point checklist for hassle-free ownership experience. Mercedes-Benz offers facilities that make the experience of buying a pre-owned car comparable to that of a new car. These include Mercedes-Benz’ service infrastructure, tailor-made financing options, exclusive warranty and service packages. Mercedes-Benz has been in the Pre-Owned car business since 2010 as ‘Proven Exclusivity’ and the brand was renamed as ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ in 2014. The brand sells pre-owned cars of other brands too, through its network. The brand anticipates a 20 percent growth in the segment in 2018. Mercedes-Benz claims that Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities contribute a much larger market share than metros do in this regard.

Commenting on the occasion, Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said, “We have witnessed strong demand for our ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ cars and customers have appreciated our entry into the organized Pre-Owned Car business. The market size of Pre-Owned cars has grown significantly and Tier II and III cities contribute significantly to this. ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ products offer a complete peace-of-mind and a hassle-free ownership experience to our customers. There is a strong demand for Mercedes-Benz products due to their superior build quality, tested reliability and impeccable craftsmanship leading to their high re-sale value. The Indian Pre-Owned car market has a huge growth potential and it is estimated to grow by 20 per cent in 2018. We expect ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ business to grow significantly in the foreseeable future and contribute to the brand’s growth in India.”

The cars enlisted under ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’ are selected based on thorough quality checks conducted by trained Mercedes-Benz staff. The Mercedes-Benz products sold under the brand come with manufacturer-backed warranty of one year or 20,000 kms.

Every car needs to meet the following parameters to be able to sell under the ‘Mercedes-Benz Certified’:

• The age of the Mercedes-Benz model needs to be less than five years
• It should have run less than 100,000 kilometers
• It should not have any accident history
• It should not have more than two previous owners