All Mercedes-Benz cars in India to get petrol engine option

Mercedes-Benz India is planning to introduce a petrol variant for every product in its line-up. This move comes as a measure to avoid sales being affected due to the NGT diesel car ban in Delhi-NCR, and to satisfy the changing customer preferences in the Indian market.

In an order released in December 2015, the Supreme Court had banned the registration of all diesel cars having an engine bigger than 2,000 cc in Delhi and NCR. Mercedes-Benz was one of the most affected automakers due to this ban, as all diesel vehicles in their portfolio had engines bigger than 2,000 cc.

Roland S Folger, MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India, commented that the company has already introduced petrol variants of many of its models in order to mitigate the effects of the said ban on diesel cars. Additionally, the automaker would be providing a petrol option for every car in its portfolio by September 2016.

Currently, the only two 'diesel-only' models in Mercedes line-up are the GLE and the GLS. Both these SUVs are expected to be launched in the '400' trim, with their engine and transmission setup being borrowed from the S 400 sedan. This means that the two Mercedes SUVs (GLE and GLS) will get a 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine, which will be mated to a 7-speed automatic gearbox. This powertrain will pump out around 329 BHP and 480 Nm of peak torque.

Source: Autocar India