The ‘Big Mac’ Index is All ̇Well and Good, But What We Really Need is a ‘Mercedes-Benz’ Index…
The three-pointed star has come to define the term ‘aspiration’ As suggestions go, this is a pretty good one! It’s not mine, unfortunately.
By Dhruv Behl
As suggestions go, this is a pretty good one! It’s not mine unfortunately. Credit must go to Santosh Iyer, MD & CEO of Mercedes-Benz India. In truth, this was more of a lighthearted comment, made while addressing an industry gathering organized by the Public Relations Consultants Association of India (PRCAI), but look beyond the jest and there could be some real merit to the idea.
For reference, the Big Mac index was devised by The Economist in 1986 as an informal way of determining if currencies are valued correctly. The theory being that the uniformity of a certain commodity (in this case, a McDonalds Big Mac) sold across markets and comprising of a host of common ingredients – bread, meat and vegetables, of course, but also wages, rent, etc. – should provide a real-world gauge of purchasing power parity (PPP). It has since become a global standard and an easily digestible (pun intended) way of coming to terms with the vagaries of global exchange rates.
The Mercedes Benz index won’t be nearly as precise, but more of a way of measuring the wellbeing of a market – which is to say the percentage of people aspiring to own a Mercedes-Benz at some point in their lives. After all, ‘Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes-Benz…’ isn’t just a chant for Janis Joplin, but one for pretty much all consumers around the globe knocking on the doors of opportunity and luxury.
Mercedes-Benz was the first luxury car manufacturer to enter the Indian market in 1994, and ever since then the three-pointed star has come to define the term ‘aspiration.’ Suffice to say, the Indian market today is fueled by this aspiration, and it’s very much a marker of the optimism and confidence in the country at present.
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So, perhaps the Economist ought to consider adding another feather in their cap by implementing the Mercedes-Benz index – first in India, and then across the globe, in order to measure the level of aspiration and wellbeing in different markets around the world.
Oh, and I’ll take my royalties in the form of a Mercedes-Benz, thank you very much.
