USA Today Is Insane

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

In the market for an upscale Mercedes? Are you a reader of USA Today? In that case, stop talking to your travel agent. If you have already booked a ticket to Beijing, cancel it. USA Today fooled you. Most likely without malice. USA Today doesn’t know better.

Today, USA Today writes:

“If you’re looking for a deal on a luxury car, head to China. That’s where Mercedes-Benz is cutting as much as 25% off the price of some of its swankiest models.

Bloomberg News reports that China, an automaker’s paradise of anxious buyers only a couple years ago, is getting a lot tougher for those who want to sell to those who drive the very best.

Besides Mercedes, BMW and Audi are having to offer discounts of 20% on their flagships.”

Before you head to China, you may want to know what one has to pay there for one of those swank Mercedes cars. Due to murderous duties and taxes on those imported swank cars, prices in China are a tad higher than back home.

According to the Mercedes-Benz website, a Mercedes-Benz S 600 L (they only have longs,) costs 2,598,000 yuan in China. That is $410,821. Before all kinds of other taxes. A Mercedes S 600 (normal) is listed at $162,975 MSRP in the U.S. TrueCar says I should get one for $153,518. Even if I get that 25 percent discount in China, the price I pay here would buy me two S 600 in the U.S.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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  • Davekaybsc Davekaybsc on Mar 20, 2012

    What's the Euro delivery price for the S600? That at least used to be the smart way to buy German, not buying in China. Nice discount, little vacation to Germany at least somewhat paid for by the factory.

  • Kimnkk Kimnkk on Mar 20, 2012

    lol you think that's bad... spare a thought for Australians. $437,463.90 is what we pay for an S600L after taxes. Even the cheapest BMW (320i lolll) is $60,000 after taxes! We pay double to triple what you guys pay, especially true for anything european!

    • See 2 previous
    • Grinchsmate Grinchsmate on Mar 22, 2012

      @28-Cars-Later Gillard does have a bit to do with the car prices. New cars sold in Australia are subjets to several federal taxes including; a 5% tarrif on imported cars, a 10% goods and services tax, and a 33% luxury car tax on tthe cost of a car over AUD 57466. As the prime minister Gillard is responsible for the federal taxation regime Cars are also subject to stamp duty levied by the states, this ranges from 2.5% to 6.5%. There are other reasons for the high cost of cars in Australia including the small size of the market, the distance from manufactures, the higher costs of doing business in Australia, and the willingness of Australians to pay higher prices.

  • Norma Norma on Mar 20, 2012

    BTW, Bertel, how much is the "entry level" c-class that starts from RMB 308k (MSRP??) in USD?

    • See 2 previous
    • Acuraandy Acuraandy on Mar 21, 2012

      @acuraandy Isn't Hong Kong a Chinese territory?

  • Yes_but_maybe Yes_but_maybe on Mar 21, 2012

    BUT...would you have to pay the tax if the vehicle was not going to be used in the country? Alternatively, would you get the tax refunded if you immediately exported it?

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