Recently, Mercedes-Benz released global sales data for 2021, with a total of more than 2.4 million new cars delivered in 2021, setting a record high.
From the perspective of global market sales, Mercedes-Benz's global sales grew in 2021, but sales in the European market fell by more than 11%, with the largest decline, while sales in the Asian market fell by 1.6% year-on-year. Sales volume in the Chinese market was 758,863 units, a year-on-year decline of 2%; the North American market only increased slightly by 0.3%.
sales data shows that Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales reached 2093,476 units, a year-on-year decrease of 5%, and Mercedes S-Class sales rose 40% year-on-year to 87,064 units. The Chinese market is still the largest single market for Mercedes-Benz, with sales accounting for 35.5%.
has become a major recaller for many years
According to the analysis of the Finance Network Automobile, a total of 44 automobile brands in the domestic passenger car market issued 155 recall announcements in 2021, and a total of 8,733,735 passenger cars were recalled, an increase of 31.88% year-on-year from 2020.
According to the data inquired by the Defect Product Center of the State Administration for Market Regulation, Mercedes-Benz (China) Automobile Sales Co., Ltd. and Beijing Benz Automobile Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Mercedes-Benz, Beijing Benz) recalled 17 times in 2021, with a total of 2.78 million vehicles being recalled.
Among them, in March last year alone, Mercedes-Benz and Beijing Benz filed a recall plan with the State Administration for Market Regulation, recalling a total of more than 2.6 million vehicles with defects and hidden dangers, including some imported and domestic A-class, B-class, C-class, E-class, S-class, GLA, GLB, EQC and other models from January 21, 2016 to November 20, 2020, which basically covers all models sold by Mercedes-Benz in China.
In particular, Mercedes-Benz announced in November last year that it recalled the EQC, the first pure electric vehicle of Mercedes-Benz, produced from December 11, 2019 to May 18, 2020, with a total of 19,000 units. The reason for the recall was that the vehicle may cause the steering control unit to fail due to water inflow, which poses a safety hazard of steering system failure.
As Mercedes-Benz's first pure electric vehicle model, such a large-scale recall may bring more uncertainty to the entire Mercedes-Benz's new energy vehicle market, which may become an important factor in the lack of recognition of its products.
. Mercedes-Benz frequently recalled in China, which will also have more adverse effects on its own brand. Public information shows that Mercedes-Benz has been recalling about 20 times in China in recent years, of which Mercedes-Benz recalled 27 times in 2018. In 2019, Mercedes-Benz recalled 24 times in China due to direction machines and shaft breakages. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz recalled 18 times. This shows that with the increase in market sales, Mercedes-Benz's quality control problems may have many uncertainties.
large recalls indicate that there are hidden dangers in the production process of products, and actively protecting the rights and interests of users is the manufacturer's responsibility. Relevant announcements show that most of Mercedes-Benz's vehicle recalls are due to suppliers, but this does not rule out that there may be a lack of Mercedes-Benz's manufacturing and supply chain control.
As the frequency of recalls in Mercedes-Benz in China increases and the number of recalled products continues to increase, it will more or less affect the market performance of Mercedes-Benz in China. To this end, Caijing.com Auto contacted Zhang Xiang, a senior automobile industry analyst. The other party said that the recall of Mercedes-Benz will not have too much impact on Mercedes-Benz brand and market sales, and there is no necessary connection between the two parties.
Automotive technology updates have accelerated, making the product development cycle of luxury car companies shorter. Competing with new forces will inevitably bring about certain processes and the necessary experimental verification will be reduced. In addition, the large number of new technologies, software technology, intelligence, intelligent networking and other technologies have made the uncertainty more uncertain and the frequency of recalls will increase.
In 2021, in addition to Mercedes-Benz, the independent brand SAIC-GM-Wuling recalled 1.4567 million vehicles and Toyota recalled 1.2849 million vehicles, including the Toyota brand and the Lexus brand, ranking third in the recall list. Tesla recalled a total of 543,800 new energy brand models in 2021, making it the brand with the largest number of recalls among all new energy brands.
sales in China may face bottlenecks
For a long time, the sales ranking in the Chinese luxury car market has been occupied by Audi. Mercedes-Benz began to usher in a new turning point in the entire market in 2012, and the sales growth rate in China has gradually increased. In 2015, Mercedes-Benz's sales growth rate in China reached 32.6%, which not only narrowed the sales gap in China with Audi and BMW, but also since 2015, China has become the world's largest single market for Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz's market sales in China account for nearly 30% of global sales.
Li Hongpeng, then senior executive vice president of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Company, once said that by the end of 2015, Mercedes-Benz's dealer outlets would reach 500, covering 200 cities. This number would be the same as Audi and BMW, and would lay the foundation for Mercedes-Benz's market sales in China.
sales data show that in 2015, Mercedes-Benz sold 373,500 units in China, a year-on-year increase of 32.6%. At this time, Audi's sales were 570,000 vehicles, BMW's sales in China were 456,000 vehicles, and the market gap between Mercedes-Benz and Audi and BMW began to narrow.
In 2016, Mercedes-Benz grew to 472,000 units, a year-on-year increase of 26.6%, while Audi's cumulative sales of 592,000 units throughout the year, and BMW's cumulative sales of 516,000 units throughout the year. By 2017, Mercedes-Benz sold 587,000 units in China, Audi sold 595,000 units, and BMW sold 594,000 units, and the gap between the three major brands further narrowed.
From the perspective of the sales and growth rate of the entire market, after 2015, although Mercedes-Benz's sales in China continued to grow, its growth rate began to slow down, especially in 2018, the growth rate declined significantly.
data shows that in 2015, Mercedes-Benz's sales increased from 373,500 vehicles to 653,000 vehicles, and the growth rate began to decline, from 32% in 2015 to 11.1% in 2018. In just three years, the growth rate fell by more than 21%.
In 2020, Mercedes-Benz's annual sales in China reached a record high of 774,400 units, an increase of 11.7% year-on-year, while BMW and Audi's sales in China were 758,000 units and 732,000 units respectively. Entering 2021, due to the epidemic situation and chip shortage, Hubertus Troska, chairman of Mercedes-Benz China, said: "In 2021, the global automotive industry is facing challenges. We always give priority to the Chinese market business and try our best to ensure supply." Faced with the decline in Mercedes-Benz's growth rate and sluggish market sales, preferential policies have to be adopted to further stimulate the market.
Under this influence, since December last year, Beijing Mercedes-Benz announced a collective price reduction for many models. In response, Finance Network Auto contacted Mercedes-Benz's related 4S stores. The store staff said, "As the end of the year approaches, Mercedes-Benz does have significant discounts, and sales pressure is relatively high. New and old models have different discounts. If you arrive in the store, the discount can continue to be negotiated."
has a view that Beijing Mercedes-Benz has begun its year-end sprint. The total sales volume from January to October this year was about 490,000 Mercedes-Benz, which has not yet exceeded the 500,000 mark, while Audi and BMW have both sold more than 500,000 units. BMW has more than 570,000 vehicles, becoming BBA's sales brand this year.
It is understood that even on the basis of large discounts, Mercedes-Benz still charges financial service fees for financial loan policies, while competitor BMW brands also have similar situations. According to sales staff of Mercedes-Benz 4S stores, Mercedes-Benz Finance's handling fee problem has always existed during the sales process of new car. Regarding the charge of handling fees, Zhang Xiang, an analyst at the automobile industry, said that charging handling fees for automobiles is a hidden rule. The preferential treatment is relatively large and the supply and demand relationship is mainly considered. If the sales pressure and inventory quantity of 4S stores are large, they will be returned to promote the order. At present, the market is still stimulating sales through price cuts.
Recently, Mercedes-Benz released its sales in China in 2021 to 758,900 units, a year-on-year decline of 2%. Also affected by the chip shortage, BMW brand's sales data in 2021 showed that the cumulative sales of 767,000 vehicles in the Chinese market in the first 11 months, an increase of 11.5% year-on-year. If BMW's sales remain stable in December, BMW is expected to become the first luxury brand in the domestic luxury car market to exceed 800,000 vehicles.
New energy electrification urgently layout
Fuel vehicles have always been Mercedes-Benz's main business. Faced with the decline in domestic market sales and the new energy market is gradually emerging, Mercedes-Benz has had to make adjustments and put the layout of new energy electrification on the agenda.
Daimler's new CEO Kang Linsong said, "Fuel vehicles have always been our main business, and it takes 20 years to change, and the time is very urgent." In July 2021, Mercedes-Benz announced its transformation to "full electric", and it plans to sell plug-in hybrid and pure electric models by 2030, sales of plug-in hybrid and pure electric models will account for 50% of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.
2021 is the beginning of Mercedes-Benz's EQ New Energy in China. Mercedes-Benz will launch three new pure electric models for the domestic market, Mercedes-Benz EQA, EQB and EQC pure electric SUV. Previously, Jan Madeja, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co., Ltd., said, "In 2022, we will launch 21 new products covering a rich power selection, including 8 pure electric and plug-in hybrid models. We will accelerate the transformation of electrification and intelligence."
Faced with the growth of Duone new energy vehicle market, Mercedes-Benz's pure electric SUV is far less influential than fuel vehicles. The reality is that the sales of Mercedes-Benz hybrid and pure electric models have not been recognized by the market for a long time. Sales data show that the global order volume of Mercedes-Benz flagship electric sedan EQS is only 16,370 units, while the sales of other Mercedes-Benz EQ models in China are even worse.
From January to November 2021, the cumulative sales of Mercedes-Benz EQA in China were only 172 units, EQB sales were 232, and the cumulative sales of EQC were only 5,411 units, far less than the sales of new car manufacturers in one month.
In the fuel vehicle market, Mercedes-Benz can be said to be strong, but the new energy market performed poorly. For Daimler Greater China CEO Tang Shikai, the market pressure will be greater.
Public information shows that Tang Shikai was the head of Mercedes-Benz passenger car product management and Mercedes-Benz truck business. He has been leading Daimler's business in China since the end of 2012, serving as the chairman and CEO of Daimler Greater China. He is mainly responsible for Daimler's strategy and operations in China, and his tenure lasted for three years. On December 31, 2015, Daimler extended his contract to the end of December 2020. In February 2020, the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG announced the extension of its term of office to December 31, 2025.
In this regard, the chairman of the Supervisory Board of Daimler AG once said, "Under his development and promotion, the Mercedes-Benz brand business has achieved remarkable results. China is the world's largest growth market and the most important market for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars." Now, a year later, Mercedes-Benz's performance in China may not be as good as expected.
In 2021, Mercedes-Benz recalled more than 2.78 million vehicles in the Chinese market, and the domestic market sales were 758,900 vehicles, a year-on-year decline of 2%. The overall sales of Mercedes-Benz EQ series models are only more than 10,000 vehicles worldwide. How will Mercedes-Benz develop and promote its new energy business? Faced with competitors, how the Mercedes-Benz brand responds to the next challenges is the key.
