Mercedes-Benz India Introduces Connected Car Solution And New Digital Initiatives

Mercedes-Benz is digitizing its entire customer experience in India and has announced a host of digital initiatives which will make life easier for its customers. Mercedes-Benz announced the roll-out of its connect features 'Mercedes me Adapter' and 'Mercedes me connect' in a phase-wise manner, as also the commencement of the e-commerce business in India. So, yes, Mercedes-Benz India is going the connected car way too. Mercedes me has a very important role for the Mercedes-Benz brand, as it enables customers to connect with their vehicles from anywhere and at any time. The company will be offering connected features to Mercedes-Benz customers in three distinct Phases. The company will launch the Mercedes me Adapter on November 15, 2019. The OBD based adapter solution will help connect all Mercedes-Benz cars in India from 2007 onwards. The company has priced this adapter at an introductory price of Rs. 5,000. Those customers buying a Mercedes-Benz in 2019, will get the Mercedes me Adapter free of cost.

Martin Schwenk, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz India inaugurates the Mercedes me experience for customers

Post this the company will roll-out of 'Mercedes me connect' services via the 'Mercedes me' app which is an ex-factory e-sim based cloud connectivity solution available across select models. The service will be available on new Mercedes-Benz vehicles. Overall the Mercedes me app will offer over 25+ unique features. Some key features are Remote lock-unlock, Parked Vehicle Locator, Send destination 2 car, Remote retrieval of vehicle status, Valet Protect, Speed Alert, Tele-diagnostics among others. In the final phase, Mercedes-Benz will bring in its smart virtual assistant for the Mercedes-Benz User Experience (MBUX) This feature will be soon available with new vehicles sold in India with more than 30 features. The service provider for this will be Vodafone India and no data charges will be paid by the customers as it will be prepaid by Mercedes-Benz India

The Mercedes me app will offer over 25+ unique features.

Martin Schwenk, Managing Director, Mercedes-Benz India, "Today's customers want to experience the brand anytime and anywhere - online and offline. We have created numerous channels, products and services to further focus on the ease of interaction for our customers. These novel initiatives promises our customers a seamless communication with the brand resulting in a convenient yet enjoyable luxury car ownership experience, irrespective of time or geographical location. That's the future of luxury cars in India and we are more than prepared to excite our customers with our offerings."

The OBD based adapter solution will help connect all Mercedes-Benz cars in India from 2007 onwards

But of course, there are those, who worry about data protection. Mercedes-Benz has got that covered too as it says that the customers themselves decide at any time, which services they want to use and which data they want to share. Mercedes-Benz India is on the way to be European 'General Data Protection Regulation' (GDPR) compliant ahead of the Indian data protection legislation. This means for all Mercedes-Benz customers that their data will be used responsibly and transparent and their privacy will be protected.

The app will offer features Remote lock-unlock, Parked Vehicle Locator, Send destination 2 car among others

The company is also looking to enhance customer experience right from exploration, purchase and even ownership experience. The company will make available the cAR app and even a car configurator for its customers for a seamless interface.

Mercedes-Benz India has also launched its e-commerce Solutions for Pre-Owned cars and New cars from October 1 2019 and January 1, 2020 in India, respectively. While the Mercedes-Benz India certified cars and collections items are available immediately from October 1, 2019; the dealership certified cars and dealership new cars will be available starting December, 2019 and January, 2020 respectively.

Mercedes-Benz is not the only company to introduce connected features on the car as Audi India too recently launched its My Audi Connect App which is broadly divided into five categories- Safety and Security, Driver's Behaviour, Lifestyle, Geo Location and Utility and offers a range of features.