Steered by NDTV, India made Mercedes-Benz GLA embarks on an arduous world tour!

There can be a first time for anything at any point of your life. Imbibing the spirit of adventure, adrenaline and fascination all into one epic drive, NDTV and Mercedes-Benz India are embarking on a one-of-its-kind world tour with one of the most versatile SUVs - the GLA. Christened the ‘Great overLand Adventure (GLA), the ‘India Made’ GLA would be put to a realistic endurance test as it would undertake this epic road trip, traversing across varied geographies and climates across the globe. The GLA, which will be rolled-out of Mercedes-Benz India’s Chakan Plant in Pune, will be traversing across six continents, seventeen countries and clocking more than 50,000 kms, before returning to Pune after six months.

For the ‘Great overLand Adventure’, the NDTV network will be partnering with Mercedes-Benz India and will cover this journey over a series of 26 gripping episodes. In each episode, the viewer will almost feel like a passenger that eats with the locals, drives through landscapes that travel agencies could possibly never take one through, feels somewhat close to Columbus as a raw explorer and also gets stuck in the mud and finds a way out. In fact, stay tuned to the Car and Bike Show on NDTV, as two lucky viewers will actually get to go from couch to driver’s seat for two legs of the tour! Famous events of the region will be covered as we pass through, as will some famous lovely people.

This unique journey which will be flagged-off in the middle of July from Mercedes-Benz India production plant in Pune, will traverse across varying geographies and travel through Europe, Northern and South Africa, North and South America, Australia and Asia. The Great overLand Adventure will touch upon some of the most iconic rallying routes across the world and pay tribute to trailblazers who pioneered this spirit of adventure.

Siddharth Vinayak Patankar, Editor-Auto & Head of Automobile Programming, NDTV Group and Director, World Car Awards said, “It is exciting to be able to take on such an ambitious expedition for the first time from India. The spirit of adventure is universal and we hope to not just traverse many thousands of kilometers but also gain many experiences, learn a lot, and be able to collate several stories along the way. That we can tell these stories to our viewers and readers on-air and online is also thrilling. I am confident we have chosen a terrific partner and some of the best vehicles made in India, for the task.” 

Eberhard Kern, Managing Director & CEO, Mercedes-Benz India commented, “Mercedes-Benz vehicles are synonymous with safety, luxury, comfort and reliability. All these attributes that make the GLA on top of customer preference today, will be put to a stringent test during this World Tour. We are confident that the ‘Made in India’ GLA will prove its reliability during this arduous global drive and reaffirm strongly the reason for its growing popularity amongst the Indian customers. We are glad to be scripting a memorable precedence regarding the reliability and success of the GLA with this unique Great overLand Adventure. I wish the team all the best for the drive and a time of their life.”