Strategie 2020: Mercedes Wants To Double Its Sales

by Bertel Schmitt

Published: October 24th, 2012

strategie 2020 mercedes wants to double its sales

Mercedes wants to double its passenger car sales within the next eight years. By 2020, Mercedes wants to raise its sales to more than 2.6 million units annually, from 1.3 million this year. This is what Daimler CEO wrote in a letter to all employees. Automobilwoche [sub] has a copy.

Until 2015, Mercedes wants to launch 30 new models, 10 of them in segments Mercedes had ignored so far. Zetsche thinks the world market will grow by 50 percent until 2020, Mercedes wants to grow 100 percent.

#BertelSchmitt #Daimler #Germany #Mercedes #Zetsche

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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9 of 31 comments

Acd on Oct 24, 2012

Maybe they could look for another manufacturer to buy who can help them increase their volume in segments they don't already cover. Mercedes could buy a really profitable company and then bring in their superior managment and culture (which we know are superior because, well they just are--ask Jurgen or Dieter and they can explain it) while they run off the people who helped make the so profitable in the first place. Just make sure that however crappy Mercedes interiors become that the aquired company's interiors will be even worse to maintain the pricing gap and everything should be fine. What could possibly go wrong?

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Blowfish on Oct 25, 2012

quite often u dont need the big volume to make big mulla. no point by doubling the numbers at the expense of bottom line.

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Daviel on Oct 25, 2012

Don't they make Freightliner semis? Maybe he meant trucks.

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- See 1 previous
- Acd on Oct 25, 2012
  
  The line of Freightliner chassis school busses at my kid's school was quite impressive with their "Powered by Merecedes Benz" badges displayed prominently on the right front side. When I think of spending extra money on a luxury car its good to know that the company also makes school bus engines.
  
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- Hubcap on Oct 25, 2012
  
  @Acd "When I think of spending extra money on a luxury car its good to know that the company also makes school bus engines." My sarcasm detector isn't as finely tuned as it should be but I do believe it registered a slight blip. I'd think that having a "Powered by Mercedes-Benz" badge on a large commercial vehicle would indicate stoutness. After all commercial trucks and bus engines get worked and if MB does well there then it shouldn't be a problem powering my car. I understand many in the U.S. don't know about the full range of MB vehicles that operate in other areas such as city buses, garbage trucks, mobile cranes, dump trucks, OTR trucks, military vehicles and delivery vans. MB is very much a full line manufacturer. All they need is a motorcycle line to be complete but you do make an interesting point. I wonder if many of the buyers who covet the three pointed star on this side of the pond would be "put off" if they knew the variety and "commonness" of the MB full line up?
  
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Rpol35 on Oct 25, 2012

"Also, talking about the $40k price. I have not seen an ATS with an under $40k sticker price." That's really immaterial, GM has plenty of cars that cost way less than $40K; Daimler, not the case. Also, ATS class is hardly an "ignored segment".

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- Th009 on Oct 26, 2012
  
  @rpol35, "GM has plenty of cars that cost way less than $40K; Daimler, not the case." Have you priced out a Smart recently? The last one I saw was well below $40K ...
  
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- Krhodes1 on Oct 26, 2012
  
  @th009 As are the A-class and B-class and most of the cheaper versions of the C-class. As usual with the Europeans, we get a very skewed version of their product line in the United States. Mercedes is a "Premium" car maker the world over, but so is Volkswagen. The image of Mercedes-Benz as some sort of junior Rolls-Royce style aristocratic luxury make is pretty much exclusive to the United States, and was very much by design. There was certainly very little uber-luxurious about my '79 300TD, other than the sheer build quality. Tough car though.
  
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- Hubcap on Oct 26, 2012
  
  @th009 "As usual with the Europeans, we get a very skewed version of their product line in the United States." That is something I find interesting especially in this day and age with the internet and freer flow of information buy I probably shouldn't be too surprised. After all, people still buy designer jeans made from the same hands that produce the bargain basement ones. I'd like to be able to purchase some of the European manufacturers "lesser" cars but I guess that would debase the brand in the U.S. and erode their premium positioning.
  
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