Mercedes-Benz eyes 10% higher sales
SUNGAI PETANI: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia expects to sell more than 2,000 units of the new C-Class from now till next September, which is about 10% more than the sales of the previous model for the same period a year ago.
The new C-Class was launched in Malaysia on Sept 17.
Mercedes-Benz president and chief executive officer Roland S. Folger said that Mercedes-Benz and its partner DRB-Hicom would produce the complete knock down (CKD) model in Malaysia next year.
“The new C-Class is pure attraction. It embodies what we understand about modern automotive luxury and has all the prerequisites to be superior in every aspect.
“It is a high performance car in a smaller compact form,” Folger said in an interview at the launch of the new C-Class in Kedah at the As benz Motors Sdn Bhd 3-S showroom, which is one of the two Mercedes Benz exclusive distributors in the state.
The C-200 model is priced at RM285,888 while the C-250 is RM314,888.
Folger said the northern region was an important and growing area, which absorbed about 10% or 500-600 units of the Mercedes Benz produced annually.
“The Klang Valley and Johor Baru consume 80% and 10% respectively. The growth of the northern region depends very much on the pace of foreign and local investments coming in,” he added.
Folger said the order book for the new C-Class series was filling up very fast.
“The wait is now about three to four months for the new C-Class. After today’s launch, the wait may increase to five to six months,” he said.
On the appointment of new distributors, Folger said Mercedes Benz, with 25 exclusive distributors in the country, had sufficient numbers to last till 2020.
“We will review our needs for distributors in the country then,” he said.
Among the key highlights of the new C-Class is the usage of energy-saving and visually-stunning light-emitting-diode (LED) headlamps and tail lights.
“The interior lighting uses primarily longlife and energy-saving LED technology.
“This also applies to the ambient lighting in three colours – solar, polar, and neutral – which are selected via a menu item on the head unit and can be set to five brightness levels.
“In addition to the lighting elements in the dashboard console panel and on the door trim, the ambient lighting also includes illuminated outer door sill panels,” Folger said.
On safety standards, Folger said Mercedes-Benz aimed to make the highest standard of safety available to everyone.
“The new C-Class offers numerous innovative safety and assistance systems. It is fitted with attention assist, which can warn the driver of inattentiveness and fatigue, informing them about their level of drowsiness and how long they have been driving since their last break,” Folger said.