Daimler to add 75 dealerships in China
Mercedes-Benz wants to grab a bigger share of China's luxury market by opening 75 dealerships this year, nearly half in third- and fourth-tier cities, said China sales chief Nicholas Speeks.
"We are a little bit lagging behind our principal competitors in terms of outlets opening," Speeks told reporters at the Chengdu auto show.
"In the past we have been concentrating on Beijing, Shanghai and other major markets along China's coast. We recognize one of our shortcomings is the fact that we need to expand our dealer network."
Speeks offered details about Mercedes' 2 billion euro (16.3 billion yuan) plan to expand in China over the next two years -- a plan that Daimler's China CEO Hubertus Troska discussed last week.
Mercedes is adding stores in a bid to catch up to BMW AG and Audi AG, which have rapidly expanded in China's inland markets. One factor behind Mercedes' struggle was a lack of market coverage, Troska said.
"If you compare us to our competitors, they cover more cities," Troska said last week. "They have more outlets. The expansion of our dealer network and bringing more new products to market will drive our growth momentum."
Mercedes will increase its network of retail outlets to 300 stores in more than 150 cities by year end, up from 285 stores now.
In addition to its Mercedes stores, the German automaker has 90 dealerships that sell the Smart brand.
The new dealerships will help boost sales of Mercedes cars by a third to more than 300,000 cars a year by 2015, up from this year's projected sales of 230,000 cars.
If achieved, the target would make China Mercedes' biggest market globally. Currently, China is the brand's No. 3 market behind Germany and the United States.
Speeks said China's economy remained "fairly healthy," despite a slowdown in growth. China's overall car market was expected to grow about 10 percent this year, he said. "I think the premium car market will exceed that. It will be solid double-digit growth this year."
Asked to define that, he said: "13 to 15 percent growth, somewhere in that ballpark."
"In the past we have been concentrating on Beijing, Shanghai and other major markets along China's coast. We recognize one of our shortcomings is the fact that we need to expand our dealer network."
Speeks offered details about Mercedes' 2 billion euro (16.3 billion yuan) plan to expand in China over the next two years -- a plan that Daimler's China CEO Hubertus Troska discussed last week.
Mercedes is adding stores in a bid to catch up to BMW AG and Audi AG, which have rapidly expanded in China's inland markets. One factor behind Mercedes' struggle was a lack of market coverage, Troska said.
"If you compare us to our competitors, they cover more cities," Troska said last week. "They have more outlets. The expansion of our dealer network and bringing more new products to market will drive our growth momentum."
Mercedes will increase its network of retail outlets to 300 stores in more than 150 cities by year end, up from 285 stores now.
In addition to its Mercedes stores, the German automaker has 90 dealerships that sell the Smart brand.
The new dealerships will help boost sales of Mercedes cars by a third to more than 300,000 cars a year by 2015, up from this year's projected sales of 230,000 cars.
If achieved, the target would make China Mercedes' biggest market globally. Currently, China is the brand's No. 3 market behind Germany and the United States.
Speeks said China's economy remained "fairly healthy," despite a slowdown in growth. China's overall car market was expected to grow about 10 percent this year, he said. "I think the premium car market will exceed that. It will be solid double-digit growth this year."
Asked to define that, he said: "13 to 15 percent growth, somewhere in that ballpark."
