"In 2024, we will continue our product strategy of 'dual line of oil and electricity', bringing more than 15 new and new generation products, and simultaneously promoting the new energy transformation of all products and the upgrading and renewal of fuel products. ”
On the basis of high-quality development in 2023, how to "power up" Mercedes-Benz in 2024? The President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Sales & Service*** Beijing replied.
Obviously, in this new technological revolution characterized by electrification and intelligence, Mercedes-Benz has gradually found the answer to reinvent "electrified luxury".
In 2023, the sales volume in China will be 7650,000 units, doubling sales of electric vehicles
Data showsIn 2023, Mercedes-Benz's sales in China will be 7650,000 units, accounting for 29 of Mercedes-Benz's global sales share58%，This also makes China the number one regional market for Mercedes-Benz again in 2023.
However, in terms of overall data, Mercedes-Benz's sales in China in 2023 are about the same as last year's. In 2022, Mercedes-Benz's sales in China will be 75170,000 units. However, the same performance has a different meaning.
First of all, the fierce competition in China's auto market in 2023 is understandable. The ups and downs of the "first-class war" have made the competition in the Chinese market unprecedentedly fierce. In addition, in the current economic environment, Chinese consumers have some control over high consumption and are no longer as casual as in the past, which has a certain impact on the high-end luxury market.
However, even in such an environment, Mercedes-Benz still maintains a steady and progressive development trend, which is not easy.
Secondly, in the past year, Mercedes-Benz's sales of more than one million luxury models have increased rapidly. According to Duan Jianjun, "In 2023, the annual growth of Mai** and G-Class off-road vehicles will be 21% and 22% respectively, which will also help Mercedes-Benz to once again rank first in the high-end luxury car market of more than 1 million and 1.5 million yuan, becoming the first choice of customers." ”
The significance of the high-end luxury market to the Mercedes-Benz brand is self-evident. Maintaining the million-level high-end luxury field will not only further consolidate Mercedes-Benz's position as a first-line luxury brand in the hearts of the Chinese people, but also bring about an increase in brand premium. At the same time, it will also obtain a higher level of profitability for the Mercedes-Benz brand.
According to the data, in the first three quarters of 2023, Mercedes-Benz's revenue increased by only 4%, but with the increase in the share of high-end luxury car business, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car Group's profit in the first three quarters increased by 5%, and the adjusted industrial free cash flow increased by 24%.
Finally, and more importantly, in the new energy market, which has attracted much attentionMercedes-Benz has achieved rapid growth in the field of pure electric vehicles, which has "doubled deliveries".
Therefore, when we put aside the data on paper and truly understand the overall performance of Mercedes-Benz in 2023, we can conclude that although Mercedes-Benz's sales performance in 2023 is basically the same as that in 2022, a number of strategic business segments have achieved high-quality and resilient development. It can be said: in 2023, Mercedes is a success.
As Duan Jianjun made an "annual summary" for Mercedes-Benz in 2023: "Focusing on the two strategic directions of "luxury positioning" and "comprehensive electric", we have made great progress in the high-end luxury matrix, new energy product matrix and core luxury matrix, and further optimized the business structure. ”
So the question is, in today's environment that is not good for traditional luxury, why can Mercedes-Benz still give high-quality development answers?
Fully electrified and promoted the strategy of "dual lines of oil and electricity".
As one of the first luxury car companies to transform to new energy, Mercedes-Benz put forward the strategic direction of "electric first" as early as 2020; In 2021, the "all-electric" strategy was announced, and in 2023, the "all-electric" transformation was proposed.
To this end, over the past four years, the multinational automaker has been expanding its electric product range in China. At present, Mercedes-Benz has relied on many products such as EQA, EQB, EQC, EQE, EQS, EQS SUV and EQE SUVIt covers two major body types, including luxury electric sedans and SUVs.
There is no doubt that compared to its main competitors, Mercedes-Benz's electric products also cover different body sizes more completely.
However, while fully transforming to electrification, Mercedes-Benz has not given up the basic market of fuel vehicles. Among them, Mercedes-Benz C-class vehicles in China have achieved nearly double-digit growth in deliveries, and GLC and E-class cars will be replaced in 2023.
With the strong product offensive of "dual lines of oil and electricity", in 2023, Mercedes-Benz will lead the entire luxury car market.
Increase R&D, from the layout of electrification and intelligent underlying technologies
How can we be invincible in a complex market environment? The ultimate answer is always technology. Mercedes-Benz's capital R&D expenditure increased by 22% and R&D expenditure increased by 15% in the first three quarters of 2023, thanks to the increase in net profit.
It can be seen that Mercedes-Benz can not only make money, but also dare to spend money to cope with market competition and industry changes.
In terms of electrification technology, Mercedes-Benz will launch the axial flux motor developed by Yasa in 2023. Compared with traditional motors, YASA axial flux motors have the advantages of compact structure, smaller size, and lighter weight.
In terms of intelligence, Mercedes-Benz has launched the third-generation MBUX intelligent man-machine system, which has been developed through the local market in China, and dozens of high-frequency application software in the Chinese market have been put on the car, and for the requirements of Mercedes-Benz's luxury elements, the "zero-level" design is adopted on the screen interface UI around the AutoNavi map, and three-dimensional navigation is realized.
In terms of intelligent driving, Mercedes-Benz is not only the world's only L3 conditional autonomous driving and L4 automatic driverless parking "dual-license" car companies, but also approved the first batch of conditional autonomous driving (L3) road test licenses in Beijing in 2023, and will officially launch the conditional automatic driving system test of designated highways in Beijing, further accelerating the landing of related intelligent driving products in the Chinese market.
Mercedes-Benz, the new car-making forces, will also beHowever, in the actual application of the product, it must be restrained for safety, technical and other reasons, rather than blindly 'new'. As for the control of new technologies, Duan Jianjun said.
Improve channels and energy replenishment systems to improve service experience
In terms of electric luxury customer service experience, Mercedes-Benz continues to improve the EQ customer experience ecological layout.
At present, Mercedes-Benz has completed the "software upgrade" of the "2020 Network Upgrade Plan", and more than 250 dealer stores have completed the "hardware upgrade" for space and hardware facilities, and provided diversified retail space. In addition, nearly 600 dealer outlets across the country have been equipped with Mercedes-EQ customer service capabilities.
"We have built an advantageous service network covering more than 240 cities across the country with more than 28,000 professional service personnel. ”
Duan Jianjun is very proud of Mercedes-Benz's channel network in China. He said that Mercedes-Benz has a top-level service team in the industry. It is they who allow 6 million Chinese customers to "rest assured that Mercedes-Benz is anytime, anywhere" on the land of China.
In terms of energy supplement, Mercedes-Benz is also increasing the construction of charging facilities. In 2023, Mercedes-Benz super charging stations have been put into operation in Chengdu, Foshan, Qingdao, Chongqing, Kunming, Wuhan, Suzhou, Changzhou and other places. Up to now, Mercedes-Benz public charging services have covered nearly 590,000 public charging piles in more than 340 cities across the country.
In the fourth quarter of 2023, Mercedes-Benz China and BMW Brilliance announced the establishment of a charging and charging joint venture to jointly operate a supercharging network in China. According to the plan, the two sides will build at least 1,000 supercharging stations and about 7,000 supercharging piles in China by 2026.
Enable the Chinese president, in China, more Chinese
As the competition in the Chinese market becomes more and more fierce, overseas car companies have put forward the market strategy of "in China for China", and Mercedes-Benz is one of the car companies that has implemented this strategy most thoroughly. This can be seen from the appointment of Duan Jianjun as president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz China Sales Company.
In May 2023, Mercedes-Benz China announced that Duan Jianjun was appointed President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz China Sales CompanyThis is also the first time that Mercedes-Benz sales companies in China have appointed Chinese presidents. The industry generally believes that this move shows that Mercedes-Benz attaches great importance to the Chinese market and its determination to deepen the Chinese market.
According to official information, Duan Jianjun joined Beijing Benz in 2013 as executive vice president of sales and marketing. In 2019, he was promoted to Chief Operating Officer of Sales and Marketing, and with his experience in brand marketing and marketing, he further promoted Mercedes-Benz's sales in China to a new high.
In his nearly 30 years of experience in the automotive industry, Duan Jianjun has held senior management positions in BMW, Toyota and other multinational companies, and has accumulated rich experience in sales management, brand operation and marketing. It is regarded by the industry as an outstanding local talent who has grown up with the development of China's automotive industry.
Not only that, Duan Jianjun is very good at integrating the luxury concept of the Mercedes-Benz brand with Chinese culture, and actively promoting the integration of the brand into the local Chinese cultural context.
For example, according to the positioning of different models, different slogans have been tailored, including GLA's "born fearless" and Mercedes-Benz Smai**'s "courtesy to the world". The E-class car is equipped with an active avoidance lighting system, which is also interpreted as "a gentleman stops at courtesy". In this regard, industry insiders praised: Duan Jianjun has the potential to become "Dong Yuhui in the car industry".
Of course, Mercedes-Benz's Chinese dialect is not only experienced in "employment", but also at the level of local R&D, at present, Mercedes-Benz China's local R&D network covers Beijing and Shanghai, with a R&D team of 2,000 people. In terms of local production, Beijing Benz has become the largest production base in the global production network of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
2024, "power-up" Mercedes-Benz!
Today, January 29, 2024, is Mercedes-Benz's 138th birthday.
In the face of unprecedented changes and new crises in the development process, Mercedes-Benz, which is more than 130 years old, has entered the harvest period through an active electrification layout. Solid sales and earnings growth are the best proof of this.
Now, in the face of the new 2024, Mercedes will continue to Mercedes.
1. Continue to implement the dual-line strategy of oil and electricity.
According to Duan Jianjun, in 2024, Mercedes-Benz will also bring more than 15 new and new-generation products to the Chinese market, covering different drive modes and different market segments, such as the new Mai**EQS pure electric SUV, the new long-wheelbase GLC SUV plug-in hybrid model, the new generation EQA pure electric SUV and other products.
Especially in the high-end luxury product matrix, the first pure electric product of the legendary G-class off-road vehicle - the new pure electric G-class off-road vehicle, the first mass-produced pure electric model of the Mercedes-Mai** brand - the new Mai** EQS pure electric SUV and the new AMG pure electric EQE 53 SUV will be unveiled within the year. These products will drive Mercedes-Benz to hit the million-dollar electric luxury segment in 2024.
In this regard, Mr. Duan Jianjun said, "In 2024, with the launch of a variety of products, we will fully meet the diverse needs of Chinese customers in sustainable luxury travel with high-quality products and customer experience, and continue to participate in the transformation and upgrading of China's leading enterprises." ”
2. Continue to expand channels and energy replenishment systems.
Focusing on Mercedes-Benz's channels in China, based on the "2020 Network Upgrade Plan", Mercedes-Benz will fully accelerate the retail network upgrade project in 2024 and start the completion of the whole network by the end of 2025. With the "green retail" project covering new and renovated dealers across the network in 2023, it is expected that the carbon emissions of the dealer network will be halved in 2026 compared to 2021.
By the end of 2024, Mercedes-Benz's global supercharging network is expected to increase to 2,000 charging piles, and by 2030, it is expected to provide more than 2,000 supercharging stations and 10,000 supercharging piles to meet the charging needs of more users.
According to the plan to build 1,000 super charging stations and 7,000 supercharging piles within two years, once this goal is achieved, Mercedes-Benz BMW Charging Joint Venture will form an atmosphere in the rapid energy replenishment market, and the scale of its own scale and external energy replenishment will be increased. Judging from the current market performance, Mercedes-Benz's sales of electrified products will double in 2023, which puts forward higher requirements for Mercedes-Benz to expand the electric ecosystem in the next step.
3. Increase localized R&D efforts.
At the local R&D level, the new Mercedes-Benz Shanghai R&D Center will open in 2024, leveraging the advantages of science and technology industry clusters in the Yangtze River Delta region to further accelerate R&D in digital fields such as intelligent interconnection and autonomous driving.
Fulfill the social responsibility of car companies.
In order for a brand to develop in the long run, in addition to understanding the market, understanding the needs of customers, and conforming to the development direction of the country, it also needs to develop together with the society and fulfill the social responsibility of car companies. In this regard, Mercedes-Benz said that it will continue to promote Mercedes-Benz's public welfare projects in China in 2024.
In fact, as one of the first international auto brands to practice public welfare actions in China, Mercedes-Benz's public welfare journey in China has entered its 17th year, with a cumulative public welfare investment of more than 3600 million yuan.
At present, Mercedes-Benz has established in-depth public welfare cooperation with 14 of China's 56 World Heritage sites, and built a multi-dimensional biodiversity conservation paradigm for 4 of China's 5 major national parks.
Summary of the electric foal
From the perspective of market strategy, product strategy, localized R&D team, forward-looking technology layout, and new energy system construction, Mercedes-Benz has made a comprehensive layout and resource integration. If Mercedes-Benz can reach the industry's leading level in intelligent and electrification technology, it will be based on Mercedes-Benz's existing brand accumulation, luxury quality, car manufacturing quality, handling performance, safety performance, etc. Then, in the era of smart electric vehicles, Mercedes-Benz can still rely on its strong luxury strength to leapfrog this electrification revolution in the 21st century.
As Duan Jianjun said: "We believe that no matter how the times change, no matter how you travel, it is still Mercedes-Benz who will share your like-minded thoughts and enjoy the mountains and rivers in the end." ”