When shopping for a new car last
year, James Zhang considered a Mercedes and a BMW, then settled
on Audi's Q7 sport-utility vehicle because he said it suited his
status.
"Audi makes people look mature and it's more low-key,"
said the construction-company executive from the Chinese port
city of Tianjin. "If you drive a Benz or BMW, people may think
you are one of those showy nouveau riche."
After opening its first Chinese factory in 2006, Mercedes
charged out of the gate and quickly won 22 percent of China's
luxury market. For the past two years, the company has been in a
funk. Mercedes's share today stands at 21 percent, versus 32
percent for Audi AG (NSU and 23 percent for Bayerische Motoren Werke
AG (BMW, according to researcher LMC Automotive Ltd.
"I have the impression VW and BMW have put China as top
priority and will for the next five to ten years," said Juergen Pieper, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Bankhaus Metzler, who has a
sell rating on shares of Mercedes' parent, Daimler AG. (DAI "It's
not the impression I get at Daimler. "
In the midsize segment, China's most popular luxury-vehicle
category, deliveries of Mercedes E-Class sedans have tumbled 23
percent to 16,111 in the first five months of the year,
according to data compiled by LMC. By comparison, sales of the
competing Audi A6L have climbed 44 percent to 58,127 and BMW's
5-series has gained 44 percent to 39,973.
Mercedes says the underperformance is temporary. The
company is retooling its Chinese facilities for new models and a
bottleneck in the production of the B-Class compact has limited
deliveries.
'Phase-Out'
"Some of our current models are experiencing their phase-
out periods between 2011 and 2012," Klaus Maier, CEO of
Mercedes-Benz (China, said in an e-mail.
Daimler has lagged behind Audi and BMW in China because of
its late entry and a limited distribution network, said Thomas
Callarman, director of the Center for Automotive Research at the
China Europe International Business School in Shanghai.
"With anything in China, the first mover gets more,"
Callarman said. "People are just more familiar with Audi and
BMW."
Mercedes began manufacturing in China two years after BMW
and 16 years after Audi. The company cranked up production in
the first four years and by 2010 its market share had surged to
21 percent, just behind BMW's 21.6 percent. Audi's share that
year tumbled 5.9 points to 31 percent, according to researcher
IHS Automotive.
Falling Behind
By 2015, Mercedes plans to double its annual production
capacity in the world's biggest automobile market to 200,000
vehicles annually, though that won't be enough to keep up with
its rivals. BMW plans to quadruple potential output to 400,000
and Audi is seeking to more than triple capacity to 700,000 by
the middle of the decade, according to the companies.
Deliveries of luxury vehicles in China are on course to
surge 80 percent over four years to 1.8 million by 2015 and
overtake the U.S. as the top market for premium automobiles by
2017, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimates. China already
generates the fattest profit margins for German luxury carmakers
because customers in China typically purchase higher-end models
than buyers in the U.S. or Europe do, Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN
says.
Still, mounting competition, a slowing economy and rising
fuel prices have led to a glut of cars in Chinese showrooms this
year, forcing dealers to cut prices. Among luxury brands,
Mercedes has been offering the steepest discounts, according to
cheshi.com, a car pricing website.
'Weakest German'
During the first five months, Mercedes sales in China
climbed 13 percent, lagging behind the 42 percent at Audi and 34
percent at BMW, according to monthly sales data from the
companies.
With Europe's auto market shrinking for eight consecutive
months, Mercedes's challenges aren't isolated to China.
"Mercedes is lagging its German peers BMW and Audi on
almost every metric," Sanford Bernstein analyst Max Warburton
wrote in a June 12 report.
Still, Mercedes sales in the U.S. increased 18 percent
during the first five months of the year, keeping its lead
there.
Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche said at the
Beijing auto show in April that the automaker was "on the
offense in all classes" in China. The company, which began
building the GLK sport-utility vehicle at its Beijing factory in
December, plans to expand its SUV lineup, introduce the B-Class
compact and add two refreshed E-Class variants in China. Within
a few years, Mercedes aims to have dealerships in 170 Chinese
cities, up from 90 now.
Status Image
The company is also seeking to customize its designs to
cater to Chinese tastes, said Olivier Boulay, head of the
Mercedes design center in Beijing. For the Denza, a new
electric-car brand Daimler is developing for China with BYD Co.,
the interior includes a tea thermos and airline-style reclining
rear seats.
Mercedes also sells a long wheelbase version of its E-Class
sedan in China, which gives rear-seat passengers 14 centimeters
(5.5 inches more legroom than the standard version sold in the
U.S. and caters to demand for chauffeur-driven buyers.
"Status and image play a big role, so roomy and well-
equipped interiors, especially the rear passenger area, are
priorities," said Boulay.
Marvin Zhu, an analyst with LMC Automotive, said he expects
Daimler's efforts to help get the company back on track in China
this year.
"Everyone is rolling out new models, but it doesn't depend
on the number of models, it's the competitiveness of these
models," Zhu said. "The start of local production of the GLK
SUV will help spur the carmaker's growth given the popularity of
such vehicles. "
To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story:
Liza Lin in Shanghai at
llin15@bloomberg.net;
Tian Ying in Beijing at
ytian@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Young-Sam Cho at
ycho2@bloomberg.net
Mercedes-Benz Skids in China as Buyers Flock to Audi BMW
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Visitors look at Daimler AG Mercedes Benz vehicles during the media preview of the China (Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China.
Visitors look at Daimler AG Mercedes Benz vehicles during the media preview of the China (Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, China. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Jan. 13 (Source: Bloomberg — Daimler AG debuts its 2013 Mercedes-Benz 300 and 400 E-class luxury hybrid sedans at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. (Source: Bloomberg
Feb. 9 (Bloomberg — Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche talks about growth in the U.S. and China.
The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars today said fourth-quarter earnings before interest and taxes surged 39 percent to 2.18 billion euros ($2.9 billion from 1.56 billion euros a year ago. Zetsche speaks from Stuttgart with Bloomberg Television’s Manus Cranny. (Source: Bloomberg
Mercedes-Benz Losing Relevance in China as Audi, BMW Gain
Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Visitors look at the new Mercedes Benz E-Class automobile at its launch in Shanghai, China.
Visitors look at the new Mercedes Benz E-Class automobile at its launch in Shanghai, China. Photographer: Qilai Shen/Bloomberg
Mercedes-Benz Losing Relevance in China as Audi, BMW Gain
Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
A model poses on an Audi AG R8 5.2 Quattro vehicle displayed at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing.
A model poses on an Audi AG R8 5.2 Quattro vehicle displayed at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing. Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Mercedes-Benz Losing Relevance in China as Audi, BMW Gain
Kevin Lee/Bloomberg
Customers look at a Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW Z4 car at the Shanghai Fande Automotives Co. Ltd. dealership, in Shanghai, China.
Customers look at a Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW Z4 car at the Shanghai Fande Automotives Co. Ltd. dealership, in Shanghai, China. Photographer: Kevin Lee/Bloomberg
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