Per reporter: Fan Wenqing Per editor: Fan Wenqing
441,500 units, an increase of 27.6% year-on-year, Mercedes-Benz in China in the first half of the year handed over the report card once again set a new record. Despite strong sales growth, the industry is more willing to focus on the luxury car company's new energy vehicle business, which is the fastest growing segment in China's auto market.
Indeed, compared with the current rapid growth of the new car-making forces in the electric vehicle market, the current volume of luxury car companies represented by Mercedes-Benz is not large enough, and the products listed in the early stage are not commensurate with their brand strength from the perspective of sales. Therefore, many people in the industry believe that luxury car companies with rich experience in car manufacturing are not strong enough in the field of electric vehicles, and the courage to innovate is not decisive enough.
"The volume of sound is related to the product, we see that the market capacity and production capacity of new energy vehicles are rising, and the layout of luxury car brands for electric vehicles has just begun." On July 26, in an exclusive interview with the reporter of the "Daily Economic News", Yang Ming, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd., directly stated that Mercedes-Benz has the confidence to define the future of electric luxury in its own way.
Image source: Courtesy of the enterprise
The "electric" capital of Mercedes-Benz
In fact, the current luxury car companies represented by Mercedes-Benz are facing two competitions in the Chinese market: one is to continue to maintain their leading edge in the high-end fuel vehicle market; the other is to compete with the new car-making forces that occupy a leading position in the high-end electric intelligent car market. In both competitions, Mercedes-Benz has to win. There is no suspense in the first game, the key is the second game, how Mercedes-Benz plans the layout.
This is also a question that Yang Ming is often asked and thinks about. To this end, he listed to reporters the three advantages of Mercedes-Benz on the electric smart car track: 1, brand; 2, products; 3, service.
"What Mercedes has been doing is creating car dreams. Especially in the current transformation process, Mercedes-Benz not only provides travel tools, but also creates car crafts. In Yang Ming's view, the inheritance of history and the accumulation of brands are still a very important asset and driving force for Mercedes-Benz.
"The Mercedes-Benz brand has a history of 135 years, which means that we have accumulated more than 100 years of experience in car manufacturing to serve the most demanding customer groups. Over the past 100 years, we have learned how to grow with our customers and meet their needs, which will be the capital of Mercedes-Benz in the future. Yang Ming believes that luxury is the brand gene of Mercedes-Benz, and mercedes-benz will continue to strengthen the luxury positioning of the brand and its sub-brands in the future, and has the ability to continue its advantages in the field of electric mobility in the future.
Image source: Per reporter Li Xing photographed (data map)
In terms of products, Mercedes-Benz has planned a strong lineup of new energy vehicles. In addition to the EQC pure electric SUV launched at the end of 2019, at this year's Shanghai Auto Show, Mercedes-Benz debuted its first large luxury pure electric car EQS in China; and in the second half of this year, Mercedes-Benz's new EQA pure electric SUV, EQB pure electric SUV and EQS pure electric sedan products will successively land in the Chinese market. After these products, Mercedes-Benz will also launch a number of electric vehicles such as EQE pure electric cars and EQS SUVs.
Yang Ming believes that the pace of such a new electric vehicle launch is still unprecedented in the current luxury car companies.
Just as important as a strong product lineup is the service experience that goes with it. At present, Tesla has introduced the direct operation model into China, and many new energy vehicle companies are also following suit. Mercedes-Benz has seen the changes that have taken place in the field of car sales in the past two years, and has been discussing internally: Can pure online sales bring a better experience to customers?
After long-term observation, Yang Ming has seen different scenarios in the Chinese market: on the one hand, the existing retail system is based on a deep and solid understanding of customers, and the retail space has its necessity and importance; on the other hand, some new car manufacturers have also begun to establish car 4S stores in the traditional sense.
"This shows that future development is not black and white. We see the preciousness of the dealer network system, but we also know that in the new energy vehicle market, the needs of customers are very direct: on the one hand, we want price transparency and product stability; on the other hand, we also hope to have some point-to-point and end-to-end communication needs with manufacturers. We will continue to pay attention to these changes and explore the possibilities for the next step according to the actual situation. ”
According to Yang Ming, at present, Mercedes-Benz and its dealers are upgrading the space, multimedia, personnel and processes of the retail network through the "2020 Network Upgrade Plan". It is expected that by the end of 2021, more than one-third of the hardware will be converted, and nearly 600 dealers in 200 cities across the country will have Mercedes-EQ sales and customer service capabilities.
Transformation press the accelerator key
Mercedes-Benz's upcoming electric offensive in the Chinese market is inseparable from the strong support of its headquarters in Germany.
On the evening of July 22, Kang Linsong, chairman of the board of directors of Daimler AG, dressed in winter clothes, suddenly announced that Mercedes-Benz's strategy in the field of electric vehicles will be transformed from "electric first" to "all-round electric".
Compared with the "2039 Vision" released by Mercedes-Benz in October 2020, the new strategy of this upgrade has not changed the content core, and the change is the timetable after the transformation is accelerated.
In Vision 2039, Mercedes-Benz aims to achieve half of all new vehicles from new energy products, including plug-in hybrids, by 2030; and to achieve carbon neutrality of the new car camp by 2039. In the upgraded strategy, Mercedes-Benz aims to: by 2025, pure electric and plug-in hybrid models account for 50% of sales; from 2025, all newly released model architectures are pure electric platforms, and each model will provide customers with a pure electric version selection.
Mr. Kang Linsong clearly pointed out that in the process of industry transformation, we will not go with the flow, and hope to remain at the forefront of the industry. So our strategy will not change, but will accelerate the transformation, and our determination to continue to drive the industry has always been there. Yang Ming told reporters.
According to Yang Ming, with the release of the "all-electric" strategy, Mercedes-Benz will establish an organizational structure to serve the new energy market in the Chinese market in the second half of this year, and promote the transformation of service capabilities focusing on the new energy field.
"On the one hand, we will continue to strengthen the brand's luxury positioning, deeply cultivate the Mercedes-EQ sub-brand in the Chinese market, and build it into a luxury electric brand; on the other hand, we will continue to create a 'heart luxury' service experience and continue to maintain business vitality in a booming market environment." Interpret Mercedes-Benz's 'electric luxury' with our strong learning ability and adaptability. Yang Ming told reporters.
In Yang Ming's view, Mercedes-Benz's global strategy in the field of electric vehicles and China's strategy are the same at the core. As the world's largest market for Mercedes-Benz, China is also the world's largest new energy vehicle market, and the competition is also the most intense. In the process of transformation, how to find the unique needs of customers is the problem it is currently facing, and the Chinese market provides an opportunity for it to solve this problem.
"Luxury car customers in China are young, and their needs are cutting-edge, special and diverse. Therefore, in the future camp of new energy products, we will also bring products exclusive to China to the Chinese market and Chinese customers. In addition, in the development process of intelligent human-computer interaction system and vehicle intelligent interconnection, China is also the forefront of our customer insight and global feedback. Yang Ming said.
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