Author Topic: Mercedes-Benz attracts younger customers: A success story  (Read 2046 times)

Offline fasteddy

  • Administrator
  • Hero Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 6943
    • www.flyingtiger.ca  http://shop.flyingtiger.ca
Mercedes-Benz attracts younger customers: A success story
« on: April 11, 2017, 10:30:42 AM »
Stuttgart/Budapest. Mercedes-Benz achieved its sixth record year in a row, selling two million passenger cars in a year for the first time. The globally successful compact-car family played a big part in this success (fuel consumption combined: 7.4-3.5 l/100 km or 17.9-16.6 kWh/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 172-0 g/km). The family includes the A‑Class, B‑Class, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake and the beneficiary of a recent fitness regime: the GLA SUV crossover.

The expansion and rejuvenation of the product range are key factors behind the sustained market success that Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed. The compact models are fine examples in this respect. Dr Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: "We have sold over two million compact models worldwide since the launch of the new-generation A‑Class in 2012. And the average age of A‑Class customers in Western Europe has fallen by more than 13 years since 2011. I believe there are four main reasons for the success of our compact cars: variety, driving enjoyment, innovation and our sophisticated design idiom."

No other premium manufacturer can lay claim to such a comprehensive range of compact cars as Mercedes-Benz: five body variants, front-wheel drive and 4MATIC, manual or dual clutch transmission, a whole host of petrol and diesel engines, plus electric or natural-gas drive in the B‑Class, and Mercedes-AMG models that take dynamics to a new level. The compact models have already been supplied to customers in 170 markets around the globe. They are produced in a flexible and efficient production network with plants in Europe (Germany, Hungary and Finland) and China, plus Mexico in future.

The first current-generation B-Class rolled off the production line in 2011. Then came the A‑Class, CLA, GLA and CLA Shooting Brake. Followed in 2014 by the B‑Class Electric Drive (combined electrical consumption: 17.9-16.6 kWh/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 158-0 g/km), which was Mercedes-Benz's first all-electric vehicle.

The Mercedes-Benz brand has undergone a noticeable rejuvenation since the introduction of the current compact models. The average age of European drivers of the current A‑Class generation is now more than 13 years younger than for the preceding model series. Around one in two drivers of a current Mercedes-Benz compact car in Western Europe previously owned a competitor vehicle. Indeed, the capture rate for the A‑Class is as high as 70 percent in Western Europe.

Mercedes-Benz has further big plans for its compact cars: "We are confident this success story will continue. That's why we are expanding our compact-car family – from the current five models to eight attractive models", states Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes‑Benz Cars Sales since 1 January 2017.