Vyankatesh Kulkarni

ED and Head of Operations, India

Mercedes-Benz India Private Limited

Conversation Highlights

At Mercedes-Benz, we forecast 25% of our total sales volumes in the next 4 years, will comprise luxury EVs India is a part of Mercedes-Benz global EV manufacturing network and first country to manufacture EQS outside Germany and amongst CKD network With a strong commitment to sustainability, Mercedes-Benz India runs the plant on 100% green energy. The plant generates 3.6 MW of electricity through solar energy

Mercedes-Benz is known for its luxury cars. How is the company adapting its manufacturing processes to meet the growing demand for electric vehicles?

At Mercedes-Benz India, we manufacture 14 ‘Made in India’ cars for the Indian market This ranges from the C-Class to right hand drive EClass, the S-Class and even AMGs and Maybach The growing acceptance of EVs in India reaffirms that the future is electric, and Mercedes-Benz is playing a leading role in EV transition in the luxury segment We retail four luxury EV models namely, EQB, EQC, ‘Made in India’ EQS 580 and EQS 53 AMG.

After Germany, India is the first base for Mercedes-Benz to assemble the pinnacle of luxury EVs – EQS 580 Our production lines at Mercedes-Benz India are flexible, which has a rare distinction of making both ICE and EVs Our made-in-India EQS 580 launched in 2022, has created a new benchmark in the EV segment in India, and its local manufacturing underlines Mercedes-Benz’s global manufacturing competencies developed in India

How is Mercedes-Benz approaching the challenge of ensuring the sustainability of its electric car manufacturing processes, and what measures are in place to ensure that the company's operations have a positive impact on the environment?

Mercedes-Benz is committed to reducing emissions throughout the whole vehicle lifecycle across the entire portfolio, developing an entirely carbon-neutral passenger car fleet by 2039 In India, we aim to Reduce, Reuse & Recycle, leading to a reduction in CO2 footprints through the design of our processes and initiatives At Mercedes-Benz India, we run our plant on 100% green energy The plant generate 3.6 MW of electricity through solar panels and practices zero discharge of wastewater to public drains As a rare distinction, we maintain the ecological balance of our plant premises, which house 125 species of plants and animals, and afforestation is a key part of our CSR initiatives

Along with the manufacturing process, our cars also are built with keeping sustainability in mind All our vehicles are a minimum of 85 percent recyclable For example: the components in the EQS, are manufactured resource-efficiently using recycled and renewable raw materials The steel processed for the EQS at the Mercedes-Benz pressing plants consists largely of recycled steel scrap and the EQS has over 80%-recycled steel in its structure. Even the floor coverings are made of fishing nets and carpet scraps

How does Mercedes-Benz ensure that its manufacturing facilities maintain the highest standards of safety and quality control, and what measures are in place to prevent accidents and ensure worker safety?

Safety and Quality are the inherent and integral parts of Mercedes car; for which it is known in the entire world Same culture is inculcated when it comes to manufacture the safest cars Being ISO 45001 certified company in terms of Health and Safety, adopting the safe work practices by training all the employees providing appropriate PPE’s, maintaining 5S at the workplace and leaders leading the example by practicing highest standard of health and safety and thus setting the bench mark of safe work practices

With initiatives such as ‘Safety Week’, we create awareness ranging from safe driving for our carpool, safety practices at shop floor, safe equipment management among others For overall workforce, we conduct fire and natural disaster drills and we all believe “Safety is paramount” Additionally we are well integrated in “environmental & Safety Risk Management” processes n system at group owned production facilities is

The manufacturing of EQS 580 4MATIC in India was a landmark moment and a strong testament to our state-of-the-art manufacturing prowess and our commitment to the vision of ‘Make in India’ For our journey of electrification, we had to adapt current infrastructure across mechanical, electric and other complex processes The plant evolved by implementing flexible assembly lines, which can produce multiple models and different drivetrains The assembly hosts multiple models at a time from E-Class, S-Class, Maybach EQS on the same line To complement complex battery set-up, our plant now implements innovative, safe and efficient Battery assembly process and delivers on philosophy of ‘First Time Right’ production and best quality assurance processes

Can you talk about the role of R&D in the development and manufacturing of electric cars at Mercedes-Benz, and how the company is working to stay at the forefront of technological innovation in the industry?

In India, we have Mercedes-Benz Research and Development India (MBRDI), which is the largest R&D center outside of Germany India center is one of the biggest contributors of innovation for Mercedes-Benz globally Over the years, MBRDI has played an integral role in innovating and accelerating the future of sustainable mobility and we proudly say “There is bit of India in every Mercedes”

In recent years, there has been a significant shift towards digitalization and connectivity in the automotive industry. How is Mercedes-Benz leveraging these trends to improve the driving experience for customers, and what role is technology playing in this transformation?

Just like luxury, comfort, and safety, Technology and connected features have emerged as top buying criteria for today’s customers as they create something innovative, valuable, and intelligent for our customers These connected features and tech make the car more intelligent and personal, seamlessly integrating into customers’ lives Mercedes-Benz has been constantly pushing the boundaries in the domain of technology offerings and as a result, today, we have the largest carpark of connected luxury vehicles in the country, with over 79 000 connected Mercedes-Benz cars on the Indian roads

In addition, with the AI-enabled MBUX and now MBUX Hyperscreen in the EQS, our incar technology is miles ahead of any market offerings It is part of the Internet of Things and combines super-computing power with artificial intelligence to create a personalized user experience

With digitalization we are transforming manufacturing in various aspects of industrie 4 0 practices and with data driven decisionmaking, we achieve higher efficiencies in production & supply chains