Mercedes to sell cars directly to customers
Mercedes-Benz, India's biggest luxury car maker, on Wednesday announced it will completely revamp its sales model in the country and sell its new cars directly to customers.
Through a new 'Direct To Customer' model, which the company terms as the 'Retail of the Future', the Pune-based German car-maker said it will start selling its cars directly to customers from the October-December quarter.
The dealers will remain an integral part but will not be involved in transactions with the customer or buy stock from MercedesBenz.
In this new circular sales model, customers will contact dealerships (now called franchise partners) to buy a Mercedes car. But the dealer's responsibility will rest on providing a suitable brand experience to the customer through showcasing MercedesBenz cars, offering sales consulting and test drives.
The dealer will facilitate the sale of the car as well but Mercedes-Benz India will own all the stock of its manufactured/ imported models. Customers will be invoiced directly by Mercedes-Benz and there will be no financial transactions with the dealer.
For customers, it means transparent prices, and an end to bargaining for a better price, MercedesBenz said, as the cars will be now sold directly to customers by the company itself.
The industry's first new retail service will be implemented in India from Q4 2021 onwards, Mercedes-Benz said.
The Indian arm of the German carmaker will now own the entire stock of cars, sell them via appointed dealers, invoice the new cars to its customers directly, process the order and fulfill them, and offer one price and purchasing experience for customers.
The dealer, on the other hand, will handle establishing and maintaining customer contacts, developing the market, and facilitating the sale of Mercedes-Benz cars.
"A key reason for introducing 'Retail of the Future' is to create an enhanced luxury buying experience for our customers," Martin Schwenk, MD & CEO, at MercedesBenz India, said.
He said it also will deliver a win-win solution for both customers and our dealers, underscoring our clear vision for a future which is sustainable, empowering, and digital,
The changes to the 'Retail of the Future' strategy for the customer include one price directly offered by Mercedes-Benz, cars will be invoiced directly by Mercedes-Benz India and not by the dealers, and a much-simplified purchase process that is hassle-free.
For the dealers, the new retail model will help them reduce inventory costs and allow them to cater to the specific needs of its customers with a single centralised system that gives access to a larger pool of stock cars.
Mercedes-Benz India will be responsible for centrally managing the selling price of all new cars, owning and managing the entire stock of new cars, and processing and fulfilling the order, reducing delivery time.
Schwenk said dealers will continue as brand representatives, maintaining their connection with customers and strive to offer the best customer experience in the market.
The dealers will continue to cater to after-sales service, remain brand representatives in the market, will be responsible for developing customer relationships, will continue to manage operational handling of customer interactions, and will continue local retail marketing activities.