In China, Mercedes surges ahead as the luxury brand in demand - Fortune
Daimler’s AG Mercedes-Benz is clawing its way back up to the top of the luxury car heap in China. Unlike its German luxury brand rivals BMW and Audi, which have struggled to maintain momentum in China , sales of Mercedes-Benz have surged. Unit sales of Mercedes-Benz cars rose 34% in China to 91,152 in the second quarter, compared to 68,061 in the same quarter last year. “We do believe we underutilized our brand in China in past years,” Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler’s board of management said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. It was a different story several years ago when BMW and Audi dominated the luxury car market in China. When opened its first Mercedes-Benz factory in China in 2006, sales leapt forward. For years, luxury brands from the U. S. and Europe have thrived as China’s middle class developed a taste for high-end fashion, jewelry, and cars. The company’s product portfolio, efficiency improvements, development in China, as well as the introduction of several new models, including the new Mercedes-Benz GLC sport-utility vehicle and the GLE Coupe, all contribute to the company’s... Source: fortune.com
