Mercedes-Benz is accelerating its transition to "all-electric".
The world's leading luxury car company put forward a "2039" vision for the next 20 years in 2019, hoping to focus on achieving carbon neutrality of its new car lineup in 2039.
Now, this strategic goal may be advanced. In the transformation from "electric first" to "full electric", Mercedes-Benz proposed that "in the market where conditions permit, we will be fully prepared for fully pure electric by 2030." ”
As the most important market of Mercedes-Benz in the world, what role will the Chinese market play in this transformation? How will such a huge strategy be implemented in China?
In this issue of Transcend, Che Yun will talk to Jan Madeja, President and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="6" > "car inventor" a burden or an asset? </h1>
In this once-in-a-century revolution in the automotive industry, a new force is impacting the inherent pattern of the market.
Their rapid action, no burden, and no cost of large investment have allowed these new forces to develop rapidly and form a force that cannot be underestimated.
For the "car inventor" with a 135-year-old brand history, it is difficult to say which side the advantage is.
However, Yang Ming has his own thinking.
"Whether in the field of fuel vehicles or in the field of electric vehicles in the future, the industry is changing with each passing day, and it is our brand's commitment to be ever-changing. We say that we want to create a luxury car brand that makes our customers yearn for, which is what we are most focused on. Yang Ming told Che Yun.
As the world's leading luxury car brand, oil or electricity is no longer the focus of consumers. Luxury is where the user's heart is.
"Inheritance is definitely not our burden." Yang Ming said, "Mercedes-Benz not only provides travel tools, but also creates car crafts. For us, the long-term heritage of the brand remains a very important brand asset for us. ”
Mercedes-Benz's accumulation of strong technical strength is considered to be a very important advantage in its future development.
"We are competing not only for the accumulated fuel engine technology, but also for vehicle safety technology and a series of technical leadership, which are the foundation for our future." Yang Ming stressed.
At the same time, the ability to continuously serve a large number of high-end customers is also the advantage of the Mercedes-Benz brand heritage. "Now, about 5 million customers connect with us in different ways, and the ability to serve our customers is an important part of our sustainability."
In addition to inheritance, maintaining the ability to learn quickly and establishing a leading position in the field of new energy vehicles that is equal to that of fuel vehicle technology are also key elements for Mercedes-Benz to achieve the same status as the era of fuel vehicles in the new energy market.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="18" > the key to open the door to the electric vehicle market</h1>
Whether it is a fuel vehicle or an electric vehicle, Mercedes-Benz has always believed that luxury attributes are the long-term goal of brand development.
"We are also thinking, will the new energy products of the future be as defined now? Or do you still favor the appearance, interior and comfort of the products under the connotation of the Mercedes-Benz brand? Yang Ming's answer is clear, "We believe that in the process of defining vehicles, future high-end customers may be more inclined to demand mercedes-benz brands in the luxury segment." This is not only because of the blessing of existing factors such as comfort, but also because we are constantly gaining insight into what new energy products and services customers may need. ”
To this end, Mercedes-Benz will continue to strengthen our luxury brand positioning and further strengthen the brand positioning of sub-brands, including Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-AMG, G-Class and Mercedes-EQ.
"Mercedes-Benz has always been a luxury brand, and luxury is the foundation of our long-term development. Each unique sub-brand provides the basis for different product camps and helps us serve a unique group of high-end luxury customers. Yang Ming said.
This year is also the year of Mercedes-EQ, mercedes-Benz will successively launch a number of products under EQ sub-brands. The new EQA pure electric SUV, the new EQB pure electric SUV, and the market's first large luxury pure electric sedan EQS will also be introduced to the market in the coming months.
"It is a very clear direction to hope to create desirable automotive products, including new energy products."
At the end of 2019, Mercedes-Benz launched the EQC pure electric SUV, and thus entered the door of the pure electric car market; less than two years later, Mercedes-Benz debuted the first large-scale luxury pure electric car EQS in China at this year's Shanghai Auto Show, which can reach more than 800 kilometers under CLTC conditions and has a new user interaction and technology.
Yang Ming confidently said: "Our development speed, learning speed and learning ability all make me believe that we have the ability to continue to embrace the future and define the future in the future new energy market." ”
Although the current luxury brand electric vehicle volume is not large, Yang Ming believes that with the gradual introduction of products, the market will gradually increase.
"We hope to be able to use electric luxury to define the luxury car segment in which we are located. In the process, we see that the market capacity and capacity are rising, and the layout of luxury car brands for electric models has just begun. ”
To stay ahead of the new energy market in the future, just as important as a strong product lineup is a service experience that matches it.
Matching the "new luxury" of the brand and products, Mercedes-Benz brings the service concept and service experience of "heart luxury".
Two years ago, Mercedes-Benz launched the Service Pact to set the industry standard for transparent and compliant operations, and later, it launched the "Hospitality" to inject the concept of serving customers within the brand.
"Over the past 12 months, tens of thousands of colleagues who have been working with our customers have received training at different levels, and we look forward to putting our hospitality into practice." Yang Ming stressed, "We are the first in the industry to launch the 'Customer Rights Officer', which not only exists at the retail frontline level, but also runs through the China headquarters, regional operations and dealer levels, examining our business practices from the perspective of customers and urging us to build a service model according to the needs of customers." ”
For the direct sales, direct sales and other models established by some new enterprises, Yang Ming believes that "the future development is not black and white - not necessarily to abandon one to build one." We are also working with our reseller partners to research and gain insight into customer needs and market changes. ”
The industry, including Mercedes-Benz, has been discussing whether pure online sales can bring a better experience to customers.
"In the current market, the existing retail system is based on a deep and solid understanding of customers, the retail space has its necessity and importance, and we see the preciousness of the dealer network system." Yang Ming also admitted, "In the new energy market, the needs of customers are very direct, on the one hand, they want price transparency and product stability, on the other hand, there is also a need for peer-to-peer and end-to-end communication with manufacturers." We will continue to work with our reseller partners to monitor these changes and explore the possibilities for the next step based on our actual situation. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="36" > learning and insight capabilities are important</h1>
In the interview, Yang Ming mentioned more than once that it is necessary to maintain the ability to learn quickly.
As the big brother of the luxury car market, this humble and cautious attitude is indeed valuable.
Mercedes-Benz achieved good results in the first half of the year, delivering a total of 441,579 new vehicles to Chinese customers, an increase of 27.6% year-on-year.
Yang Ming said: "This is our best first-half sales ever. We are relatively satisfied with the results achieved so far. ”
Mercedes-Benz wants to continue to maintain its business vitality in a booming market environment, while responding to market uncertainty in the most suitable way, and doing its best to prepare for the transformation of the industry.
In an emerging market, how to shape demand and how to learn user needs are complementary.
"China is the most competitive new energy vehicle market. In such an environment, it is mainly the products in the market that shape the needs of customers. But Yang Ming also believes that "today's customer needs are organic feedback under the long-term interaction of many products." ”
In the field of new energy vehicles, the emergence of new products and various new ways of playing has also brought many challenges to Mercedes-Benz. But Yang Ming believes that these are all very good learning opportunities.
"Taking EQS as an example, this is the first product we have built on the pure electric platform, and it is also our feedback on the current customer needs, which is our "learning achievement". In the future, of course, we must continue to learn and accelerate our own transformation to produce more high-quality learning outcomes. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="46" > electrification is not the same as abandoning fuel vehicles</h1>
"No one in this industry can go against market demand, and the most fundamental driver of our transformation and change is the needs of our customers and the market." This is the voice of Yang Ming and Mercedes-Benz.
Although Mercedes-Benz's full electrification transformation is accelerating, it still has not announced that it will abandon fuel vehicles.
"At the moment, our fuel vehicles have received very good customer feedback and we are able to see a very strong market demand, which also gives us a unique market position. In such a process, as long as customers still have needs, we will provide customers with the products they need, such as fuel vehicle products. Yang Ming said.
The market is diversified, especially in China as a huge market, the needs of users must be diversified.
Yang Ming stressed, "What we have to do now is to be ready, we actively provide when the market needs it, and we actively transform when the market changes." ”
As Yang Ming said, "In the electric vehicle market, our long march has just begun. ”