Mercedes-Benz hasn’t led the U.S. luxury sales market since 2018. Hell, it’s actually fallen to third place behind BMW and Lexus, but it’s got an ambitious plan to shake things up and get things back on track to the tune of 400,000 retail sales per year by the end of the 2020s. That’s one-third more — about 100,000 additional vehicles — than what it delivered last year, so this isn’t exactly going to be an easy task, but those crazy Germans have a plan.
The key, according to Mercedes, is a pivot to a diverse powertrain mix and simplified dealer programs. Even Mercedes’ U.S. CEO, Adam Chamberlain, knows that 400,000 vehicles per year is a huge undertaking, describing it as aspirational but achievable and a “North Star, a rallying cry.” From Automotive News:
At the Mercedes dealer meeting attended by global sales chief Mathias Geisen, executives promised aggressive investment to reclaim the top spot in the U.S. luxury segment.
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A focus on top-end luxury with AMG and Maybach cost Mercedes share in the more affordable, higher volume portion of the luxury segment.
“Mercedes allowed BMW and Lexus to jump into the lower end of the market,” the dealer said. “It’s hurt sales volume and lease penetration.”
With a renewed focus on the “core SUV” lineup, Chamberlain expects the GLC, GLE and GLS utility models to generate about 55 percent of U.S. sales by the end of the decade, up from around 40 percent last year.
“We have a huge opportunity with those cars to drive some growth there,” Chamberlain said.
A big part of this plan for Mercedes will be building some high-performance EVs, like the AMG GT XX concept car, and upgrading bread-and-butter utility vehicles throughout the lineup. It also plans, in an appeal to U.S. buyers, to bring back bigger engines. Six- and eight-cylinder motors are back on the menu, fellas. That also shows we can expect less of a focus solely on EVs.
Starting with the next-generation CLA arriving in December, future models will be available with battery-only and hybrid powertrains.
“It’s not either-or; it’s both,” Chamberlain said, adding that Mercedes will price its EVs in the “same ZIP code” as their gasoline-powered counterparts.
The automaker also plans to revamp its dealer experience and incentive programs to help get buyers and lessees in the door.
Mercedes-Benz has lost a lot of ground since it was the luxury sales king in 2018, so there’s certainly a lot of work to be done if it ever wants to catch up to industry leaders like BMW and Lexus. Those are two companies that are definitely not going to give up without a fight.
