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The story of Mercedes-Benz is, really, that of success and the luxury brand appears set to continue that success story with the planned expansion of its compact-car family from the current five to eight attractive models. Indeed, there is no doubting the fact that the German luxury carmaker is attracting younger customers across the global markets with this success story.
The yearly results are a pointer to this fact. For the 2016 business year, Mercedes-Benz achieved its sixth record year in a row, selling two million passenger cars in a year for the first time. The globally successful compact-car family played a big part in this success (fuel consumption combined: 7.4-3.5 l/100 km or 17.9-16.6 kWh/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 172-0 g/km), according to the luxury carmaker. The compact-car family includes the AClass, BClass, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake and the beneficiary of a recent fitness regime: the GLA SUV crossover.
The expansion and rejuvenation of the product range are key factors behind the sustained market success that Mercedes-Benz has enjoyed. The compact models are fine examples in this respect.
“We have sold over two million compact models worldwide since the launch of the new-generation AClass in 2012. And the average age of AClass customers in Western Europe has fallen by more than 13 years since 2011. I believe there are four main reasons for the success of our compact cars: variety, driving enjoyment, innovation and our sophisticated design idiom,” the CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, Dr Dieter Zetsche, disclosed.
Really, no other premium manufacturer can lay claim to such a comprehensive range of compact cars as Mercedes-Benz: five body variants, front-wheel drive and 4MATIC, manual or dual clutch transmission, a whole host of petrol and diesel engines, plus electric or natural-gas drive in the BClass, and Mercedes-AMG models that take dynamics to a new level. The compact models have already been supplied to customers in 170 markets around the globe. They are produced in a flexible and efficient production network with plants in Europe (Germany, Hungary and Finland) and China, plus Mexico in future.
The first current-generation B-Class rolled off the production line in 2011. Then came the AClass, CLA, GLA and CLA Shooting Brake. Followed in 2014 by the BClass Electric Drive (combined electrical consumption: 17.9-16.6 kWh/100 km, combined CO2 emissions: 158-0 g/km), which was Mercedes-Benz’s first all-electric vehicle.
The Mercedes-Benz brand has undergone a noticeable rejuvenation since the introduction of the current compact models. The average age of European drivers of the current AClass generation is now more than 13 years younger than for the preceding model series. Around one in two drivers of a current Mercedes-Benz compact car in Western Europe previously owned a competitor vehicle. Indeed, the capture rate for the AClass is as high as 70 percent in Western Europe.
Mercedes-Benz says it has further big plans for its compact cars.
“We are confident this success story will continue. That’s why we are expanding our compact-car family – from the current five models to eight attractive models”, Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for MercedesBenz Cars Sales since 1 January 2017, said.
