India becomes 1st market outside US to start local production of Mercedes-Maybach GLS

(IANS/Mercedes-Benz India Photo)

New Delhi, (IANS): Mercedes-Benz India on Tuesday announced that it has achieved a major global milestone by becoming the first market outside the United States to start local production of the ultra-luxury Mercedes-Maybach GLS.

The move highlights India’s growing importance for the German luxury carmaker and underlines the company’s strong confidence in the country’s appetite for top-end luxury vehicles.

According to Mercedes-Benz India, local manufacturing of the Mercedes-Maybach GLS will not only strengthen its top-end portfolio but also help the brand respond better to rising demand while reinforcing its long-term commitment to the Indian market.

“The decision to start the local production of the Mercedes-Maybach GLS reiterates Mercedes-Benz’s deep commitment to the Indian customers, offering the pinnacle of luxury SUV, ‘Made in India’,” Santosh Iyer, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India, said.

“Local production will further enhance the vehicle’s appeal, reiterating our world-class manufacturing prowess and agility, catering to most demanding customer wishes for such exclusive top-end vehicles,” Iyer added.

In its 2025 sales performance highlights, the German luxury carmaker announced it has sold 19,007 units in India during CY 2025, slightly lower than the 19,565 units sold in 2024.

Despite the marginal dip in volumes, the company recorded its best-ever year in terms of revenue.

According to the company, the Top-End Vehicles portfolio, which includes the S-Class, Mercedes-Maybach models and AMG cars, showed strong resilience and grew 11 per cent year-on-year.

This segment accounted for 25 per cent of total sales, reflecting rising demand for ultra-luxury vehicles in India.

The high-performance AMG portfolio performed particularly well, registering a sharp 34 per cent growth, as Indian customers continued to show strong interest in performance-oriented luxury cars.

Mercedes-Benz India’s electric vehicle business also maintained its growth momentum in 2025.

The company’s battery electric vehicle portfolio grew 12 per cent year-on-year and accounted for 20 per cent of all top-end Mercedes-Benz cars sold in the country.

Notably, 70 per cent of the electric vehicles sold during the year belonged to the top-end segment, priced between Rs 1.25 crore and Rs 3.1 crore.

These included models such as the EQS SUV, EQS Sedan, Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV and the Mercedes-Benz G580.The EQS SUV remained the company’s highest-selling luxury electric vehicle in India. India becomes 1st market outside US to start local production of Mercedes-Maybach GLS | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → January 27, 2026

Amitabh Bachchan says, learning never stops, but outsourcing is the way forward

(Photo : IANS/File)

Mumbai, Megastar Amitabh Bachchan reflected on learning, time, and the rapidly changing nature of work, saying that while every day brings a new lesson, the pace of innovation today often makes it difficult to keep up as one grows older.

Taking to his blog, Big B shared his thought that there is often a sense of regret that certain things could not have been learned years ago.

“Each day is a learning .. and the regret is that what needs to be learnt should have been learnt many many years ago .. the regret is more because what is being learnt now did not exist then .. and now the desire and effort and energy to learn diminishes - with time and age ..”

The star observed that inventions and new systems evolve so rapidly that by the time one begins to understand them, time has already moved on.

“The speed of inventions and fresh new systems is so rapid that , by the the time you are beginning to learn it time has passed (sic).”

Drawing from recent meetings, he said the key takeaway was to get the basics right and then rely on the best and most skilled recent talents to carry the work forward.

He added: “So the take away today from several meetings is to get the basics in place and then hire the best recent talents and experts to carry out the job .. and job done (sic).”

“If you are unaware or not qualified to accomplish a given job .. no issue .. you accept it .. then hire it out to experts of choice and get it done .. the job accepted .. hired out .. and done .. rather than NOT take up a job, because you do NOT know it, but take it and get it done through a hiring process .. yes you employ or deploy the talent , at a cost , but better to do that than not accdept the job in the first place because you are not qualified for it ..”

Calling it a slightly complicated process, Bachchan said clarity eventually comes with time. He concluded by identifying the right term for this approach, outsourcing, where experts handle the work for a fee, while one retains control of the larger project.

“A bit complicated all this .. but in time it all falls into place .. aahh .. got the right expression and word that I was struggling with .. its called OUTSOURCING .. or you OUTSOURCE .. the expert or the knowledged do the work at a fee .. you maintain the job .. but outsourced to the more proficient .. the larger percentage of the commercial remains with you ..”

“The cost of outsourcing , being the commercial consideration that you are deployed with ..(sic)”

“YES .. finally understood .. in my time .. if you did not know the job, you regretted and did not or could not do it .. but now you take up the job, and get it done through OUTSOURCING (sic).”

Expressing relief at finally finding the right word, the veteran actor added that modern tools like ChatGPT make finding such answers quicker and easier than ever before.He concluded: “Oh boy what a relief to have got the term right .. and guess what .. put up the issue on ChatGPT, and within a few seconds the response was before you .. BAADUMBAAA !!!! (sic).” Amitabh Bachchan says, learning never stops, but outsourcing is the way forward | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → January 26, 2026

Indonesia Masters 2026: Sindhu, Lakshya advance; Srikanth goes down in pre-quarters

Photo credit: Badminton Photos/BWF

Jakarta, (IANS) Two-time Olympic medallist P.V. Sindhu progressed to the quarterfinals of the Indonesia Masters 2026, where she will face top seed Chen Yu Fei inJakarta on Friday, as men's singles star Lakshya Sen and women's singles player Anmol Kharb also advanced to the next stage.

Former World Championship silver medallist Kidambi Srikanth, and men's doubles pair Hariharan Amsakarunan/M.R Arjun, too exited the BWF World Tour event.

With Chen leading their head-to-head 7–6, the quarterfinals against Sindhu on Friday promise to be closely fought. Sindhu booked her spot with a 21-19, 21-18 win over Denmark’s Line Hojmark Kjaersfeldt in 43 minutes.

Seventh seed Lakshya Sen also advanced and will take on Thailand’s Panitchaphon Teeraratsakul after a dominant 21-10, 21-11 victory over Hong Kong's Jason Gunawan in another 43-minute battle.

Anmol Kharb challenged former world No.1 and Olympic bronze medallist Nozomi Okuhara by winning the first game 21-16 before bowing out. Men's singles contingent Kidambi Srikanth and men's doubles Hariharan Amsakarunan/M R Arjun exited the tournament.

Earlier, Sindhu faced a tough first-round match but ultimately secured a straight-games victory over Japan's Manami Suizu in the opening round of the Indonesia Masters here on Wednesday. Sindhu had a surprising start in the first game, trailing 2-11 at the mid-game break. She had to defend four game points but managed to win the game 22-20, scoring six consecutive points. In the second game, she led throughout but couldn't establish a comfortable lead over Suizu until she ultimately won 21-18.

Meanwhile, former World No. 1 Kidambi Srikanth, who made it to the finals of the Malaysia Masters and Syed Modi International last year, faced Japan's Koki Watanabe in an exciting first-round match and edged out his Japanese opponent with a 21-15, 21-23, 24-22 victory.

After a strong start with aggressive shot-making in the opening game, Srikanth's game faltered in the second as he made errors, giving Watanabe a chance to catch up. In the third, he led 7-4 but made several errors and couldn't fully dominate Watanabe. Ultimately, in key moments, Srikanth's aggressive strokeplay helped him secure the win, keeping Watanabe at bay.

Last week, Sindhu, Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, and H.S Prannoy made early exits from last week's India Open 2026, a HSBC BWF World Super 750 event. Lakshya Sen reached the furthest before ending his campaign in the quarterfinals. He kept pace with Lin Chun-Yi till the very end but fell short in the final exchanges as he went down in three games to end the host’s challenge.Sen won the opening game against Lin but then struggled from the faster side of the court to go down 17-21, 21-13, 21-18 in the men’s singles quarterfinals. Indonesia Masters 2026: Sindhu, Lakshya advance; Srikanth goes down in pre-quarters | MorungExpress | morungexpress.com

Read More........ → January 23, 2026