The German carmaker introduces a petrol version of its highest-selling SUV in India, the GLE.
25 Aug 2016 | 4365 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
Mercedes-Benz India has launched, for the first time, a petrol variant of its highest-selling SUV, the GLE.
The GLE 400 4MATIC gets a powerful V6 petrol engine, in order to provide patrons with an option between a diesel and petrol version. The SUV segment has been the fastest growing ...
This is an Autocar Pro Plus article. Subscribe to continue reading.
Mercedes-Benz India has launched, for the first time, a petrol variant of its highest-selling SUV, the GLE.
The GLE 400 4MATIC gets a powerful V6 petrol engine, in order to provide patrons with an option between a diesel and petrol version. The SUV segment has been the fastest growing for Mercedes-Benz India for the past two years, and underlines the growing penchant of SUVs amongst customers. The GLE 400 4MATIC was introduced by Roland Folger, Managing Director and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India and will be available across Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
Commenting on the latest model for India, Roland Folger, MD and CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said: “Mercedes-Benz has the most comprehensive luxury SUV portfolio in the country. With the launch of the GLE 400 4MATIC, our discerning customers will now have the option of choosing between the petrol and the diesel version of our highest selling SUV. The GLE has been the highest selling SUV ever and with a growing penchant for SUVs among customers, we believe the introduction of the petrol version will further bolster our presence in the luxury SUV segment. For the first time, we are introducing the GLE with a petrol engine and this underscores our strategy of offering the right product for our growing customer base. This is the fourth SUV we have introduced this year and with this variant, we now offer our bestselling SUV in 4 different options – GLE 250 d, GLE 350 d, GLE 400 and the dynamic GLE 450 AMG Coupe.”
Mercedes-Benz India, which was impacted adversely by the seven-month-long ban on large diesel cars in Delhi-NCR, made the move to bring in a petrol version of the GLE SUV to give customers a wider choice of engine options for its model portfolio.
The GLE 400 is powered by a 3.0-litre twin-turbo six-cylinder petrol engine which develops 333hp and comes mated to a seven-speed automatic gearbox. The GLE 400 currently does not have a direct rival in India. Mercedes will initially sell the GLE 400 in India via the CBU route with local assembly to start later. The carmaker is also readying a petrol-powered GLS 400 which will be launched this year as well. The GLS 400 will rival the Audi Q7 2.0 TFSI petrol which is likely to come to India soon.