Win-win sales growth hailed
Industry and automaker rise together, Li Fusheng reports.
As Chinese Lunar New Year draws near, Mercedes-Benz has announced its 2016 performance, with some 481,000 cars sold in China, a region that plays a vital role in the automaker’s ambition to become the top premium automaker worldwide.
Last year saw the Stuttgart-based automaker sell 2.08 million vehicles globally, posting 11.3 percent yearon-year growth.
This laid the foundation for “the most successful year in the history of the company”, according to Dieter Zetsche, Daimler’s chairman and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars.
In 2016, China continued to lead the world in economic growth. The country currently remains the largest auto market worldwide and Mercedes-Benz expects it to remain so for the foreseeable future.
Being the brand’s largest individual market, China has proven crucial for nearly a quarter of the automaker’s global sales in 2016, as well supporting the company’s strong and sustained growth in recent years.
In return, with 28 percent growth in 2016 alone Mercedes-Benz is leading the growth of China’s premium auto market.
“Whilst it is unlikely that we will always post such growth rates, we are happy with this performance, especially since this growth was achieved parallel to an improvement in the value perception of our brand.
“We have not seen volume growth that is detrimental to either our dealers or our shareholders,” said Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service during a year-end press conference held in Beijing on Thursday.
The company’s rich product offering fanned into flame a prosperous outcome last year. Although the fact remains that the carmaker remains the No 3 traditional German brand in China, the gap significantly narrowed in 2016.
However, the company holds a different ambition, aiming for healthy, profitable and sustainable growth together with its dealers, and ensuring its customers recognize its well-preserved brand value.
“It’s not absolutely necessary that we are number one in terms of sales in China in order to be the world’s top premium brand,” said Speeks.
“We want to provide a foundation here that can sustain our growth into the future.”
Hailing 2016 as its “Year of Innovation”, the company introduced a number of measures that boosted its performance and customer satisfaction in China, which it recognizes as its second home.
“For four years now, we have been able to increasingly place Chinese characteristics at the forefront of development across our range of cars, not only in terms of product features, but also in terms of connectivity and assisted driving,” said Speeks.
One example is the all-new E-Class Long Wheelbase, which the company describes as “made in China, designed for China”.
The model, which currently has 13 variants, was one of 16 product lines the automaker launched in the Chinese market last year. Localized offerings
Mercedes-Benz has employed customer-friendly measures to adapt to the Chinese community, which is experiencing an increasingly digitalized lifestyle.
The company has improved its services with the introduction of new offerings, such as door-to-door services, including test drives, and new connectivity features, such as WeChat My Car and a new e-commerce platform.
These efforts demonstrate its commitment to meet Chinese customers’ demands in the digital age, according to the company.
“‘Best Customer Experience’ has been, since the beginning, a central pillar in our approach. Although we have still many things to address, we have, I believe, done much to strengthen our brand’s position in the eyes of the Chinese car-buying public,” said Speeks.
“It’s about doing simple things, but doing them well, and doing them in a manner that not only meets customer expectations — and customer expectations for Mercedes-Benz here in China are high — but exceeds those expectations,” Speeks said.
Mercedes-Benz has also put the brand within closer reach of potential new customers, with initiatives including the trendy Mercedes me Sanlitun in Beijing, a space offering lifestyle experiences such as catering, art and shopping.
“We have made visits to our showrooms more efficient and customer-friendly by digitalizing information and services at our dealerships.
“We have begun piloting shared-mobility concepts for both Mercedes-Benz and smart, allowing more people access to a broader portfolio,” said Speeks.
According to the company, about 75 percent of its customers have chosen to make purchases and arrange follow up services via its authorized dealerships, as of result of years of efforts to optimize ownership costs, among other measures.
Mercedes-Benz’s innovative financial services also helped the brand’s growth, with almost 40 percent of its newcar customers taking advantage of its lease, finance and insurance services, according to company data.
“In essence, what we are trying to do is to make people’s dreams come true,” said Speeks. “It’s about fulfilling peoples’ aspirations: our customers’, our dealers’, our associates’ and our employees’. It’s about offering value, being sincere, transparent, genuine, and fair.
“These are the things we want to continue to do and to do well in 2017.”
‘Best Customer Experience’ has been, since the beginning, a central pillar in our approach.” Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service