Daimler's ambitious China plan
February 10, 2015
Attempting to win back ground lost to rivals BMW and Audi, German premium auto maker Daimler told reports in Beijing Tuesday it was aiming to book 2-digit percent growth on the Chinese market in 2015, after already logging a staggering 30-percent rise in sales last year with its Mercedes brand.
"We're intending to grow faster than the overall premium segment market," Daimler executive board member Hubertus Troska announced. China's automotive industry is penciling in 8-percent growth for the current year, while Daimler aims for a 10-percent surge at least.
Troska said the jump would be made possible with the help of more cars produced on the ground, speaking of a "massive expansion" of local output, thus echoing a statement made by Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche earlier on.
Dealers in a pivotal position
In addition, the carmaker is going to enlarge its network of dealers in China. "We want to plug the holes in our dealers' network," Troska told reporters, also highlighting the need to boost training for dealers.
"Every dealer has to be able to be excellent for us to grow on the market," Troska noted. He announced reinforced sales pitch checks to find out whether dealers were up to the mark.
Audi and BMW, but increasingly also Daimler, have been dominating the premium-car market in China. According to consultancy company EY, the Asian country looks set to become the German premium carmakers' most important market in 2015, ahead the European Union and North America.
hg/uhe (AFP, AP, dpa)