Mercedes-Benz plans to at least
double deliveries of AMG performance cars over the next three years by
adding vehicles that are more affordable. With the new AMG Sport line,
the unit plans to make cars with souped-up engines, all-wheel drive and
special brake and suspension components at prices lower than
traditional offerings such as a US$222,000 (S$292,000) version of the
Mercedes S-Class.
The first two AMG Sport models, based on the C-Class sedan and coupe
variant of the GLE sport-utility vehicle, will be presented next month
at the Detroit Motor Show.
"True sport-car technology will be more accessible and will
therefore appeal to an even broader range of customers," Mr Tobias
Moers, AMG's chief, said at a recent event at its headquarters in
Affalterbach, Germany. Boosted by the new line and the €115,430
(S$187,700) GT sports car, the Daimler AG unit targets sales of more
than 64,400 vehicles by 2017, compared with 32,200 last year.
The bigger presence of sporty AMG models is part of chief executive
officer Dieter Zetsche's efforts to freshen the image of Mercedes in a
bid to overtake BMW as the world's largest luxury car brand by the end
of the decade. AMG makes performance editions of Mercedes production
cars, traditionally equipping them with engines that are signed by the
technician that built them. The unit expects to exceed 40,000
deliveries this year, Mr Moers said.
GT Speed AMG, which competes with BMW's M line and Audi's RS
performance vehicles, reached its previous delivery target four years
early after expanding its line-up to include compact cars such as the
US$47,450 CLA45 AMG sedan. In the coming years, AMG expects its Sport
line to account for as much as 40 per cent of its sales.
The AMG GT is the second vehicle developed entirely by the Mercedes
performance unit after the SLS gull-wing supercar. The GT, a two-seater
sports car, is equipped with a 462-horsepower V8 engine that powers the
car to 100kmh in as little as four seconds, beating the base version of
the Porsche 911.
AMG plans to add more versions of the car beyond the base GT and more powerful GT S variants.
