Mercedes-Benz announces robust sales of 14,484 units in 2017 and leadership for 17 successive years, ready to go from strength to strength with plans for 2018 including 11 Mercedes-AMG dealerships nationwide

Mercedes-Benz Thailand today announced the best sales year in its history with 14,484 vehicles sold in 2017, making it the leader in Thailand’s premium car segment for 17 years in a row. The company also unfolded its business plans for 2018, starting with its Q1 move to secure a solid foothold in high-performance cars through appointment of 11 Mercedes-AMG authorised dealerships nationwide. Moreover, a strong lineup of more than 10 new models encompassing Compact Car, Contemporary Luxury Sedan, Dream Car and SUV categories will keep the premium market segment animated all year round.

Mr. Michael Grewe, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited, said, “2017 was the most successful sales year in the history of Mercedes-Benz with 2,289,344 vehicles sold globally, a year-on-year increase of 9.9% in unit sales         (2016: 2,083,888 units), with the SUVs being the highest achievement of more than 800,000 units sold or 14% growth. Additionally, last year was AMG’s 50^th anniversary. For the first time in history, the AMG brand achieved six-digit unit sales of more than 130,000 cars, equivalent to 33% growth. In Asia-Pacific sales region, 875,250 Mercedes-Benz were delivered to customers, which is equivalent to 19.2% growth when compared with last year. In Thailand, Mercedes-Benz continued to lead the premium segment for 17 years running with year sales rising 23% from the year before to an all-time record of 14,484 units in 2017. Month sales in December soared 26% to 1,764 units (December 2016: 1,401 units), which contributed to a strong sales performance of 3,672 units in the fourth quarter.”

“This success can be attributed to our commitment to deliver ‘THE BEST’ to customers today and tomorrow, not only with the best products but also the best in after-sales service, ” he pointed out. “With 18 models of Mercedes-Benz cars launched last year, Mercedes-Benz Thailand met the preferences and lifestyles of consumers across all segments of the premium market. And to reinvigorate this market, the launch of high-performance brand Mercedes-AMG, ultra-luxury brand                     Mercedes-Maybach, and technology brand “EQ – Electric Intelligence by                Mercedes-Benz” brought a host of new alternatives to our customers. After-sales confidence was maximised as well with the deployment of our 24-hour Service Vito, the new fleet of fully-equipped Vito on standby for 24-hour roadside assistance to give Mercedes-Benz owners the peace of mind through their journeys nationwide.”

“Our business operation in 2018 will continue to reflect the strategy to offer                  ‘THE BEST’ to our customers today and tomorrow. All the four brands we currently market in Thailand will be energised even further to ensure that the demands of our customers are addressed across the board. At the same time, after-sales operation will keep expanding to achieve the fullest spectrum of services. As a start, the first quarter will witness our appointment of the first 11 Mercedes-AMG authorised dealerships in Thailand to provide support and services to Mercedes-AMG customers nationwide.” Mr. Grewe revealed.

Mr. Frank Steinacher, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, added,

“Consumers can look forward to the best additions to Mercedes-Benz lineup this year with more than 10 new models on slate to be launched across categories of                   Compact Car, Contemporary Luxury Sedan, Dream Car and SUV. Moreover, we will be more offensive in high-performance cars with Mercedes-AMG as our highlight brand, starting with the launch of a new model from Mercedes-AMG in the first quarter, namely C 43 Coupé LOCAL PRODUCTION. Our customers in this product segment will also be reassured with our move to open the first Mercedes-AMG authorised dealerships in Thailand.”

“To emphasise our leadership in the new frontier of electric mobility through our technology brand “EQ – Electric Intelligence by Mercedes-Benz”, we will grow the number of our charging stations by 80 this year,” he continued. “Mercedes-Benz Thailand currently operates 113 charging stations within our 32 authorised dealerships nationwide and at partnered hotels and leading retail establishments, such as Siam Center, Central World and Paradise Park”

“In terms of brand communication, the ‘Best Customer Experience’ strategy will be extended with an emphasis on women. A year-round series of activations will be launched on our global platform ‘She’s Mercedes’ to broaden our base of female audiences and inspire women to discover the best in their individual styles. Meanwhile, our CRM campaigns will bring rewarding experiences to our customers and MercedesCard membership, and our CSR activities will continue to provide educational support to Yaowawit School in Phang-nga. We also seek to communicate more with younger audiences. Online channels will be treated as our first-line communication to enable alternative channels for information and updates from us. Mercedes-Benz Thailand currently has 681,242 followers on Facebook and more than 98,000 followers on Instagram,” said Mr. Steinacher.

Mr. Putthi Tulayathun, Vice President of After-Sales, outlined the company’s                  after-sales operation in 2018 saying that service quality and customers’ satisfaction will remain the top priorities. “We’re ready to offer new services to serve the needs and provide convenience to our customers of various lifestyles. As some of the customer privileges, ‘My Privilege’ programme provides each customer with customised services (only at participating autorised dealer) while ‘Online Service Booking’ system enables our customers to make service appointments conveniently via online channels. Moreover, ‘Service Clinic’ campaign will bring experts all the way from our parent company in Germany to co-perform comprehensive vehicle check-ups with certified local technicians at selected dealerships and offer expert advice exclusively to our customers. Our after-sales service programmes include ‘Mercedes-Benz Service Plus’ package and ‘Extended Warranty’ programme, which offers an extensive coverage ranging from parts and labour to repair works within the terms and conditions of the warranty.”

“Mercedes-Benz’s authorised dealerships have been upgraded with greater service capabilities to cope with the growing base of Mercedes-Benz owners and vehicles by establishing more color and body service centers whose quality have been approved by Mercedes-Benz Thailand. As for Mercedes-Benz genuine parts and accessories,  we have REMAN, Mercedes-Benz remanufactured parts that offer the same product quality as the new parts at prices up to 30% lower, and they come with two-year parts warranty, too. At Mercedes-Benz Thailand, we ensure customer satisfaction using Customer Satisfaction Index (CSI) as the evaluation tool, and by granting Service Excellence Award to recognise the dealerships with top scoring in our after-sales evaluation. To support skills development of service technicians, we enroll them in technical training courses on a regular basis to keep them updated with the latest technologies based on the global training standards of Mercedes-Benz. New generations of technicians are also built through German-Thai Dual Excellence Education (GTDEE) programme, in which our new graduates from the most recent academic year were honoured as the first batch to receive the certificate sent directly from Germany by the Association of German Chambers of Commerce,” Mr. Putthi concluded.