Photo: Daimler AG
A couple of decades ago, Mercedes-Benz and a few other luxury car makers out there were pretty much ridiculing the Chinese market by having almost nothing to do with it in terms of sales, but in recent years things have irrevocably changed in a million ways from this point of view.
Nowadays, the Middle Kingdom is the largest car market in the world and is continuously expanding, meaning that every self-respecting carmaker not only wants but actually needs to have a piece of the sales pie.
Despite starting a bit later than its competitors from Munich and Ingolstadt, who are currently leading in the Chinese luxury car sales race, the boys from Stuttgart want to catch up and have even arrived to a conclusion that was unthinkable a few years ago.
As the Chinese government requires every foreign automaker to create joint-ventures with local companies in order to conduct business in the Middle Kingdom, Mercedes-Benz has become allied with the BAIC Group, going as far as manufacturing tailor-made models for the Asian country – the E-Class and recently-launched C-Class with long wheelbases being good examples of their strategy.
They won't stop there though, as according to a recent report by the European version of Automotive News, Mercedes-Benz is preparing to give Chinese authorities unprecedented access to upcoming new models and even modifying certain engines to adhere to Chinese regulations.
To better understand China's potential, Daimler AG recently moved a Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center from Japan to Beijing, therefore confirming the increased Chinese influence on how the Germans conduct their business.
“To put it bluntly, we are transferring know-how,” Rene Reif, head of engineering and manufacturing at Beijing Benz told Automotive News.
Despite starting a bit later than its competitors from Munich and Ingolstadt, who are currently leading in the Chinese luxury car sales race, the boys from Stuttgart want to catch up and have even arrived to a conclusion that was unthinkable a few years ago.
As the Chinese government requires every foreign automaker to create joint-ventures with local companies in order to conduct business in the Middle Kingdom, Mercedes-Benz has become allied with the BAIC Group, going as far as manufacturing tailor-made models for the Asian country – the E-Class and recently-launched C-Class with long wheelbases being good examples of their strategy.
They won't stop there though, as according to a recent report by the European version of Automotive News, Mercedes-Benz is preparing to give Chinese authorities unprecedented access to upcoming new models and even modifying certain engines to adhere to Chinese regulations.
To better understand China's potential, Daimler AG recently moved a Mercedes-Benz Advanced Design Center from Japan to Beijing, therefore confirming the increased Chinese influence on how the Germans conduct their business.
“To put it bluntly, we are transferring know-how,” Rene Reif, head of engineering and manufacturing at Beijing Benz told Automotive News.
Google News