Confidence enables Mercedes-Benz to roll out future in China
Mercedes-Benz has been riding steadily in China for the past five years, with favorable sales growth and an expanding cohort of fans in the world’s largest auto market, but a person who has been a key part of that journey has many perspectives on that success story.
For Nicholas Speeks, President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd, the rate of the company’s growth over the past five years has been nice, but it’s not the end of the story. He has a much bigger ambition, which is to develop deeper roots in China for MercedesBenz that could guarantee longterm, sustainable growth for the brand and its partners who have invested heavily in their franchise.
“I hope we have a good name and a good reputation here in China. MercedesBenz is not just a foreign brand, it is part of the Chinese fabric, and that’s something takes a lot of time to achieve and never ends,” Speeks said at a press briefing Friday at the opening of Auto Guangzhou.
Speeks, who wears a flashy Chinese flag pin at events and is not shy about showing off some Chineselanguage skills, said he came to China to bring MercedesBenz to Chinese customers and bring “Chinese tastes, Chinese people and Chinese culture to MercedesBenz.”
“We are trying to move toward bringing, to some extent, our brand into the Chinese context,” the sales veteran continued. He said that MercedesBenz is not using its iconic English slogan – “The Best or Nothing” – in China, but instead a version that translates into “an untiring spirit, in pursuit of the best” inspired by ancient Chinese wisdom.
That’s a way of “making sure we listen to our customers,” Speeks added.
Because of this drive, things have turned positive for MercedesBenz, which struggled in China for years before the current sales organization was established, with Speeks acting as CEO since 2013.
Since then, MercedesBenz has seen 56 consecutive months of sales growth. In the first 10 months of 2017, MercedesBenz and its smart brand sold 507,742 units, already outperforming its fullyear sales of 2016.
In addition, MercedesBenz has brought more than 50 models, spanning luxury sedans to sport utility vehicles (SUVs), into the Chinese market, and expanded its fan base in China to almost 2 million in the past five years.
Asked about what contributed to this success, Speeks said: “It’s many things; it’s in local R&D, in production, retail experience, marketing and collaboration with dealer partners.”
More importantly, “we have done it, I think, not by pushing volume at any cost but we have done it in a way, where we also are able to achieve recognition for the brand on top of sustainable and profitable growth for us and our dealer partners,” Speeks continued.
Looking ahead to the next five years, Speeks said there are a number of challenges in the Chinese market for MercedesBenz to address such as adjusting to the ongoing development of newenergy vehicles, the rising demand for shared mobility and autonomousdriving technologies.
But Speeks said that MercedesBenz will meet these challenges with confidence and continue to build a solid foundation in China by working with its local partner BAIC and its dealer partners.
At the Guangzhou Auto Show this year, MercedesBenz showcased a solid lineup of 34 models, including 10 new models such as the S 500 L 4MATIC, new versions of the MercedesAMG family and a new GLA SUV.