Bangkok--29 Jan--Verve
Mercedes-Benz Thailand today announced a new breakthrough with the company’s year sales for 2013 recorded at 10,144 units, surpassing an all-time high since the company’s establishment in Thailand. With this new achievement that reaffirmed its leadership in premium car segment, the company will shift its marketing to the top gear with a diversified lineup of new models on slate to be launched this year, focusing especially on young customers and the capability to fulfill lifestyle demands of all target groups. In addition, the company will make progress in digital marketing, further strengthen its nationwide network of after-sales service and carry on with CRM activities to tighten its relationship with the customers and offer privileges to them.
Mr. Michael Grewe, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited, revealed: “2013 was a triumphant year for us not only because we have achieved a year-on-year growth of 56% by selling 10,144 units throughout the year (2012: 6,513 units), but we have also set an all-time record for year sales since our establishment in Thailand, and not to mention the fact that the figures extended our lead in the premium segment to the thirteenth consecutive year. We continued to enjoy favourable response from the customers, especially young generation customers who have a passion for sportiness. The A-Class and CLA-Class were our most popular series while the C-, E- and S-Class series nicely kept their growth momentum.”
Mr. Grewe explained: “A key to our sales success in 2013 was our comprehensive lineup of new, luxurious automobile innovations that covered various lifestyle preferences of all customer segments, especially the young generation who favourably responded to our offerings. Last year we introduced many new models that came complete with innovative design, greater sportiness and agility, including the new CLA-Class, the new E-Class in gasoline, diesel hybrid (BlueTEC HYBRID) powertrains, the new E-Class Coupe and Cabriolet, and the new S-Class. Another factor was a shift of customers towards officially imported vehicles for the peace of mind of buying from a trusted company whose importing process is always transparent and accountable. In addition, the financial services we offered through Mercedes-Benz Leasing Thailand provided a number of exclusive privileges to the customers while our after-sales service was focused on customisation to ensure the highest satisfaction of customers under our “My Service” programme. To ease customers’ access to after-sales service and information updates, we also launched “My Service App”. Our customers can enjoy three-year unlimited mileage warranty, the privileges of our 24-hour “Star Assist” roadside service, and quality assurance of genuine parts imported directly from Mercedes-Benz in Germany. All these superiorities can be experienced exclusively in Mercedes-Benz’s nationwide network of 31 authorised dealers and service centres.
Beyond these, customers are increasingly aware of direct advantages of buying from a Mercedes-Benz’s authorised dealer in that they will enjoy lower cost of ownership and better resell value as compared with our competitor products.”
“In 2014, “Mercedes-Benz Thailand will carry on with our proactive marketing this year,” he continued. “We will introduce to Thailand a number of new Mercedes-Benz vehicles much sooner after their world debut at overseas auto shows to expand our portfolio of products and boost our capability to fulfill diversified lifestyle demands of the customers. The new lineup will focus on appeals to the young generation, sportiness, agility, excitement and modernity in their design. These cars will also feature cutting-edge technologies and innovations for sustainable mobility, such as Mercedes-Benz’s BlueTEC HYBRID that effectively meets the lifestyle demands of environmentally-conscious motorists today. We will also prioritize consistency of our digital marketing on social network services, including Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.”
“Other interesting marketing activities will range from “Mercedes-Benz Driving Experience”, which is our annual driving safety training program, through to event sponsorships to reach out to both new and existing customers, as well as CRM activities and provision of exclusive privileges to holders of MercedesCard to tighten our ties with the customers. In terms of after-sales, we will continue to expand our network of dealers and service centres while improving standardised management and operation efficiencies across the network. Last year, three new dealers were opened, namely MB Korat Autohaus, Star Flag on Vibhavadi Rangsit Road and TST Hua Hin. As for this year, our new dealer namely Metro Autohaus on Rama 2 Road will be opened and reinforce our after-sales service and increase detailed coverage of the nationwide network even further. Another plan is also in place to present an interesting after-sales program as a new alternative for maintenance of Mercedes-Benz vehicles,” he added.
“Our importation of new cars into Thailand is grounded on business transparency and the imported models are carefully selected to ensure that they come with environmentally compatible technologies and can precisely meet the lifestyles and needs of the customers. Our technicians are also are well-trained to service new-model vehicles through the training we provided to them on a regular basis, making sure that our team of technicians are well-equipped with model-specific knowledge, skills and the latest know-hows involved. Mercedes-Benz Thailand will maintain our policy not to cover warranty claims of or provide after-sales service to unofficially imported Mercedes-Benz vehicles of model years 2013 onwards. As a result of this after-sales policy, we witnessed an increasing number of customers who shifted towards buying from our authorised dealer network last year, thanks to the trust of customers who made their buying decision not only for product excellence in terms of quality, safety and value for money, but also for the confidence in authorised dealers of Mercedes-Benz Thailand,” Mr. Grewe concluded.
Further details please contact :
Communications Department, Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Ltd.
Yaowaret, Siriporn at tel. 02 614 8811-12
or PR Agency, Verve
Porntipa, Kullanit at tel. 02 204 8078, 02 204 8077
Press information about Mercedes-Benz can be downloaded on the website at: www.mercedes-benz.co.th
Update Mercedes-Benz news on the Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/MercedesBenzThailand