In the first half of the year when differentiation and reshaping were fully accelerated, new pressures and new challenges were multiplied, Mercedes-Benz still handed over a report card full of gold in China.
In the first half of the year, Mercedes-Benz delivered more than 441579 new vehicles to Chinese customers, an increase of 27.6% year-on-year. In this regard, Zhang Yan, senior executive vice president of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd., said in an exclusive interview with this reporter: "The performance of the first half of the year is the result of our joint efforts with dealer partners. ”
By strengthening the luxury positioning of the product portfolio and product lineup, creating a "new luxury" product experience that fully covers customer contacts, and working with dealers to promote the continuous optimization and upgrading of channels and establish a benchmark for "heart luxury" services, Mercedes-Benz has created a stronger system and competitiveness, which has also become a "killer tool" for its continuous sales growth in China.
Not only that, in the transformation and innovation of electrification and digitalization, Mercedes-Benz and dealers and more partners in the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain strive to explore more possibilities for sustainable growth of the whole value chain.
Build sustainable user relationships
"In the first half of the year, sales of the new S-Class sedan and the C-Class car that is about to complete the current product cycle both achieved double-digit growth. But instead of pursuing digital growth one-sidedly, we work with our dealer partners to build sustainable relationships with our customers. Zhang Yan said.
For traditional luxury car brands, how to build sustainable user relationships? "Luxury is the foundation of Mercedes-Benz and the core of its future development strategy. Mercedes-Benz explains how to truly define luxury from the two points of 'new luxury' products and 'heart luxury' services, and this is also the source of our driving the entire dealer system to understand luxury and deliver luxury experience to customers, and improve service capacity building. Zhang Yan said.
In the first half of the year, whether it is the listing of the new S-Class sedan, or the entry of the new Maybach S-Class, or the launch of the G500 Blazing Special Edition, and the full opening of the "Year of Mercedes-EQ", on the road to shaping the "new luxury", with a strong product lineup, Mercedes-Benz is transforming into a "multi-faceted luxury" brand that meets the needs of users in different market segments.
At present, the Mercedes me owners club has more than 1 million users; She's Mercedes has attracted more than 370,000 female users; and the "number one territory" launched last year has built an open experience platform for more new generations of users. In order to implement the service experience of "heart luxury", Mercedes-Benz has continuously upgraded its dealer network. At the retail end, according to the progress of the "2020 Network Upgrade Plan", by the end of this year, more than one-third of the Mercedes-Benz authorized dealer stores will be converted into hardware, and software upgrades such as the promotion process and personnel of the whole network will be upgraded. On the user side, Mercedes-Benz has built a four-in-one digital platform for Chinese customers, such as official website, WeChat, mobile application and vehicle-machine interconnection, covering a full range of convenient experiences such as model overview, online car purchase, customer service and intelligent interconnection; in 2020, the cumulative number of visits to the four major online platforms of Mercedes-Benz exceeded 3 billion times, the number of online visitors reached 46 million, the sales and customer service orders exceeded 200,000, and the registered users of the cloud interconnection with the three-fork star emblem have reached 4 million.
Accelerate the electrification layout and actively explore new models
The Mercedes-EQ brand, which cut into the electric vehicle track as a "new force", launched at full speed in the "Year of Mercedes-EQ" with full power mode. In the second half of the year, including Mercedes-Benz's first new generation of pure electric models of the new EQA pure electric SUV, the first new generation of luxury 7-seat pure electric model of the new EQB pure electric SUV in the Chinese market, and the new EQS pure electric Suv that CLTC has continued to drive up to 800 kilometers, will be launched one after another, together with the EQC, forming a gradually improved electric vehicle lineup. Among them, the EQA pure electric SUV and the EQB pure electric SUV will be produced in Beijing Benz.
While accelerating the electrification layout, sales and service programs that match electric vehicles are also in full swing. Zhang Yan told reporters that it is expected that by the end of this year, more than 600 Mercedes-Benz authorized dealers in 200 cities will have EQ model sales and service functions.
At present, the direct sales model that is quite sought after by electric vehicles has the potential to subvert the traditional automobile sales service. What kind of innovation and exploration will Mercedes-Benz have for electric vehicle sales and service models? Zhang Yan said that Mercedes-Benz has been seeking a balance between inheritance and transformation, and has not stopped in terms of seeking innovation and change in products and excellence in customer service. As a participant in the competition, Mercedes-Benz is also actively exploring new forms of customer service with dealers. "At present, Mercedes-Benz has more than 700 authorized dealers in the Chinese market, serving more than 4.5 million customers. This is a valuable asset that we have accumulated over the years of development. We and our reseller partners are always perceiving and understanding new trends, new needs, new models. In my opinion, no matter how to seek innovation and innovation, the core is unchanged, that is, how to provide customers with efficient and high-quality services, meet the needs of customers in the new market environment, and improve the efficiency of the retail system from the perspective of customer needs. He said.
Practice responsibility in inheritance and transformation
Two years ago, Daimler outlined the future-oriented "Vision 2039" with the goal of carbon neutrality, which resonates with the "double carbon" goal clearly proposed by the Chinese government. In China, Mercedes-Benz is working with upstream and downstream partners and related parties to understand the balance of sustainable development of the whole value chain in terms of production, operation, new energy products and corporate social responsibility, and comprehensively promote sustainable development in the process of inheritance and transformation, so as to practice the way of responsibility for the realization of the goal of "carbon neutrality" for the whole society.
At present, in the production link, the photovoltaic system of the new factory in Shunyi can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 21,000 tons per year; in the operation link, the authorized dealer stores that complete the "2020 Network Upgrade Plan" can use energy-saving and emission-reduction measures such as air source heat pumps, roof greening, water recycling, and rooftop solar photovoltaic power generation to create a green retail operation space.
In addition, since 2007, Mercedes-Benz and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have launched the "China World Heritage Site Conservation and Management Project", and currently cooperate directly with 13 World Heritage Sites, radiating 2.25 million hectares of land.
Text: Wang Pu Editor/Layout: Zhao Fangting