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Mercedes-Benz riding high at Auto Guangzhou
By Jin Jing |
13:46 UTC+8 November 23, 2011
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Online Edition
Online Edition
MERCEDES-BENZ, the "125-year-old inventor of the automobile", unveiled a star-studded lineup yesterday at the 9th Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition 2011, making a great impact with an impressive display showcasing 33 models from its four brands of Mercedes-Benz, smart, AMG and Maybach within a 2,100 square-meter booth.
Witnessing its Asian Premiere at Auto Guangzhou, the smart forvision concept car once again created a sensation with its boundlessly innovative concept following its debut at the 2011 International Motor Show in Frankfurt.
Key Mercedes-Benz models, including the all-new CLS-Class, all-new SLK roadster, new generation C-Class, and Long-wheel-base E-Class, were also showcased, each embodying the creativity and passion of Mercedes-Benz engineers and reflecting the auto brand's rich heritage.
"As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has stood at the forefront of the auto industry since its birth, both globally and now in the China market," stated Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.
"The great success of Mercedes-Benz in China can be attributed to our excellence in all aspects, including our rich and innovative product line-up, high-value services, as well as an extensively strong dealership network."
At the smart Pre-show Evening introducing Guangzhou to the theme "Big, in the City - Share your vision" event, smart brought its historic timeline of extraordinary concept cars to Guangzhou, including the Paris 1996 show car, the smart crossblade which offers an extraordinary free driving experience without doors, roof and windshield, in addition to the smart crosstown that embody a hybrid drive system.
But the unparalleled smart forvision electric car presented at the event definitely stole most of the spotlight
"smart is the perfect urban vehicle. There is nothing like it: Spacious and comfortable inside, short outside but very safe - it's intelligent, it's fun – it's "big, in the city!" said Dr Annette Winkler, global head of smart in Guangzhou.
"The smart forvision represents some of our most exciting future visions in interior and exterior design, research and technology, with three main topics: lightweight, temperature management and energy efficiency," she told reporters.
"It demonstrates smart's futuristic perspective and sustainable development strategy on the road to zero emission mobility."
At the pre-show event, the 10,000th unit of smart for 2011 was delivered to Chinese customers, only two years after the brand entered the Chinese mainland market in 2009. The delivery also represented a 160 percent sales jump for the premium micro car from a year earlier.
"China is now the third largest market for smart worldwide and sooner or later it will become the No. 1 market," said Winkler, exuding confidence. The biggest market for smart worldwide is Germany, followed by Italy.
"The trend of individualization would be the base for the brand's continuous growing demand," she said. "China will always be considered the most important market for launch management and new products."
Winkler said she is really impressed by the Chinese smart customers who are young at heart, mind-setting and want to be different.
In order to further entice Chinese customers, who have a growing appreciation of individuality and an awareness for sustained development of society, Mercedes-Benz plans to launch the smart tailor-made service in China starting next year.
Besides the previous limited editions of smart such as the kobe edition and night orange edition, the tailor-made service would take individualization a step forward by allowing smart owners to choose from the special color palette for loads of features on the outside to door handles and instrument cluster on the inside.
With new energy vehicles showing more prominence in China's auto industry in anticipation of the government's hefty support, the smart offers Mercedes-Benz an opportunity to be part of the green revolution in the world's largest auto market.
"We have imported the first 20 smart electric drive cars in China, and are testing them to get experience and analyzing opportunities to bring in more cars," said Maier.
In the first 10 months of this year, Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 156,635 vehicles in China, representing an impressive 36 percent growth year on year, vastly outpacing the industry average.
In the last two months, sales have increased by almost 50 percent after the sales and marketing operations between Mercedes-Benz China and its Chinese venture Beijing-Benz were integrated.
Maier said the SUV has also played a vital role in driving overall sales growth. "The sales performance really shows the SUV segment is strong and we have gained much more than our competitors," he said. For example, Mercedes-Benz sold nearly 12,405 M-Class vehicles in China in the first 10 months, soaring 98 percent from the same period last year. China is now the second biggest market for the M-Class, trailing only the United States.
Maier expects the overall Chinese market to grow by five to 10 percent next year while the luxury car segment will increase slightly higher.
Witnessing its Asian Premiere at Auto Guangzhou, the smart forvision concept car once again created a sensation with its boundlessly innovative concept following its debut at the 2011 International Motor Show in Frankfurt.
Key Mercedes-Benz models, including the all-new CLS-Class, all-new SLK roadster, new generation C-Class, and Long-wheel-base E-Class, were also showcased, each embodying the creativity and passion of Mercedes-Benz engineers and reflecting the auto brand's rich heritage.
"As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz has stood at the forefront of the auto industry since its birth, both globally and now in the China market," stated Klaus Maier, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.
"The great success of Mercedes-Benz in China can be attributed to our excellence in all aspects, including our rich and innovative product line-up, high-value services, as well as an extensively strong dealership network."
At the smart Pre-show Evening introducing Guangzhou to the theme "Big, in the City - Share your vision" event, smart brought its historic timeline of extraordinary concept cars to Guangzhou, including the Paris 1996 show car, the smart crossblade which offers an extraordinary free driving experience without doors, roof and windshield, in addition to the smart crosstown that embody a hybrid drive system.
But the unparalleled smart forvision electric car presented at the event definitely stole most of the spotlight
"smart is the perfect urban vehicle. There is nothing like it: Spacious and comfortable inside, short outside but very safe - it's intelligent, it's fun – it's "big, in the city!" said Dr Annette Winkler, global head of smart in Guangzhou.
"The smart forvision represents some of our most exciting future visions in interior and exterior design, research and technology, with three main topics: lightweight, temperature management and energy efficiency," she told reporters.
"It demonstrates smart's futuristic perspective and sustainable development strategy on the road to zero emission mobility."
At the pre-show event, the 10,000th unit of smart for 2011 was delivered to Chinese customers, only two years after the brand entered the Chinese mainland market in 2009. The delivery also represented a 160 percent sales jump for the premium micro car from a year earlier.
"China is now the third largest market for smart worldwide and sooner or later it will become the No. 1 market," said Winkler, exuding confidence. The biggest market for smart worldwide is Germany, followed by Italy.
"The trend of individualization would be the base for the brand's continuous growing demand," she said. "China will always be considered the most important market for launch management and new products."
Winkler said she is really impressed by the Chinese smart customers who are young at heart, mind-setting and want to be different.
In order to further entice Chinese customers, who have a growing appreciation of individuality and an awareness for sustained development of society, Mercedes-Benz plans to launch the smart tailor-made service in China starting next year.
Besides the previous limited editions of smart such as the kobe edition and night orange edition, the tailor-made service would take individualization a step forward by allowing smart owners to choose from the special color palette for loads of features on the outside to door handles and instrument cluster on the inside.
With new energy vehicles showing more prominence in China's auto industry in anticipation of the government's hefty support, the smart offers Mercedes-Benz an opportunity to be part of the green revolution in the world's largest auto market.
"We have imported the first 20 smart electric drive cars in China, and are testing them to get experience and analyzing opportunities to bring in more cars," said Maier.
In the first 10 months of this year, Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 156,635 vehicles in China, representing an impressive 36 percent growth year on year, vastly outpacing the industry average.
In the last two months, sales have increased by almost 50 percent after the sales and marketing operations between Mercedes-Benz China and its Chinese venture Beijing-Benz were integrated.
Maier said the SUV has also played a vital role in driving overall sales growth. "The sales performance really shows the SUV segment is strong and we have gained much more than our competitors," he said. For example, Mercedes-Benz sold nearly 12,405 M-Class vehicles in China in the first 10 months, soaring 98 percent from the same period last year. China is now the second biggest market for the M-Class, trailing only the United States.
Maier expects the overall Chinese market to grow by five to 10 percent next year while the luxury car segment will increase slightly higher.
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