Mercedes-Benz Malaysia CEO Dr Claus Weidner giving his opening speech
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is riding high contrary to the general automotive market performance, achieving a 41% year-on-year quarterly growth in 1Q16 and increasing its market share to 2.3%.
“Taking pole position doesn’t happen overnight. Our success comes from the combination of all our on-going initiatives,” said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia President and CEO, Dr Claus Weidner, at the company’s 1st Quarter 2016 media briefing yesterday.
As part of its Best Customer Experience initiative, Dr Weidner said that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia had launched three new showrooms and four new models, introduced product experts, and service differentiation, all in the first three months of the year.
“In the year that the Mercedes-Benz brand celebrates its 130! Years of Innovation, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia renews our commitment to the Malaysian market. We will continue to focus on key customer touch points through our dealer network. We will be continuously upgrading our existing dealerships, and we will continue to provide customers with not only The Best products, but also The Best customer experience,” Dr Weidner pledged.
In the first quarter of 2016 alone, two revamped Mercedes-Benz Cycle & Carriage Bintang Autohauses were launched. Carrying the latest Mercedes-Benz corporate identity and featuring upgraded showrooms and customer lounges, upgrading the Mercedes-Benz Cycle & Carriage Bintang Autohauses in Petaling Jaya, Selangor and Georgetown, Penang required a total investment of RM11 million. In the same quarter, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and Cycle & Carriage Bintang also introduced the all-new Mercedes-Benz City Store at TREC Kuala Lumpur, a fresh new concept and customer experience which was built with an investment of RM4.3 million.
“We are pleased that our relentless pursuit of excellence is producing such a positive result. Following a stellar 2015 performance, we have successfully maintained our lead in Malaysia’s premium automotive segment, recording a healthy growth of 41% in the first quarter of 2016, with total sales of 2,658 units. With this, we achieved a new milestone, as at YTD March 2016 we recorded a Market Share of 2.3%, marking an increase of 0.5% versus previous year.” said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Vice President Sales and Marketing, Passenger Cars, Mr Mark Raine.
Leading Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s encouraging Q1 performance was the locally produced limousine segment. The ‘bread-and-butter’ models recorded a collective growth of 26%, delivering a total of 1,814 units. The C-Class emerged the volume leader in this segment with a total sales of 1,359 units, a phenomenal growth of 871%. The locally produced E- and S-Class delivered 260 units and 195 units respectively.
The Mercedes-Benz Compact Cars continued to delight the market in Q1 recording a healthy growth of 59%, delivering a total of 664 units. The recently launched A-Class led the pack, registering impressive sales of 300 units, a 38% increase compared to the same period last year. The CLA continued to maintain robust growth with a 200% increase from Q1 2015, selling a total of 183 units. Mercedes-Benz’s compact SUV, the GLA, recorded a strong 77% increase during Q1’16, to 159 units, from 90 units during the same period in 2015.
Since its launch in January, the all-new Mercedes-Benz SUVs have been very well received by the Malaysian market. In Q1, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia delivered a total of 170 SUVs to customers, comprising 121 GLC and 49 GLE units.
The striking Mercedes-Benz Dream Cars line-up continued to maintain a steady momentum in 1Q16, with 20 units delivered to customers.
“This achievement is clearly the result of a coordinated market offensive, which includes the extremely successful launch of a new SUV line, and bringing new customers into the Mercedes-Benz brand by providing a wider variety of vehicles. We thank our dealer network and our loyal fans for their steadfast support of the Mercedes-Benz brand,” Mr Raine said.
“It has been a very eventful first quarter for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, and we are most encouraged by the results. We will continue to provide The Best in our offerings and customer experience through all customer touch points. We have achieved a lot, and we are not stopping here. We will keep up the momentum and remain the leading brand in the premium automotive segment,” assured Dr Weidner.
Ending a good note on a good note, Mr Raine announced that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia will introduce 3 new models, update 3 models, add 2 new engine variants and 1 facelift. Further, the company has no plans to increase prices in the foreseeable future as it is actively managing inventory and currency; this move also helps with residual values.
Keyword: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Posts Its Best Ever 1st Quarter Results