Mercedes Benz India plans to lease its vehicles

Indians by nature like to own stuff than rent it. We grow up with an aspiration of owning our own house and even our own car. But things are a bit different internationally where many people prefer to lease their cars. The benefits are quite evident:

• You don’t have to take a loan to pay a huge amount upfront
• You don’t have to worry about the servicing the car or spend on maintenance
• You have the option of getting a new car when your lease is over
• The ownership experience is totally hassle free

Mercedes Benz India is planning to introduce the leasing concept in the luxury car market for the first time. They are preparing to commence leasing vehicles to consumers in the Indian market by the end of this year. However, if you are an individual then there is some bad news for you. Mercedes is only planning to lease to corporate companies for the time being. If the venture attains a certain size, then individuals will be considered.

The way it would work is:

1) Dealers would purchase cars from the company and then lease the vehicles to corporate houses for a particular period.
2) Once the lease period ends, the vehicles will be returned to the dealers’ car pool.
3) Then they would be sold in the pre-owned car market through the company’s ‘Proven Exclusivity’ program.

This way, even the used car market benefits from cars that are only 3-4 years old. It will enable Mercedes Benz India to get a strong hold of the pre-owned luxury car market.

However, this is not the first time someone is trying their hand at leasing. Maruti Suzuki, India’s largest auto manufacturer, has already started leasing cars to public sector undertakings in India. According to MSIL, the volumes are low but the concept is gaining popularity.

All of this begs a single question: Would you like to own your car or lease it?

[Source - Rediff.com]