Daimler, a German automaker, anticipates that sales of its Mercedes-Benz brand to outdo competitors Audi and BMW by number of units sold this year in China as its new approach for the biggest car market in the world starts to produce results, a newspaper cited a board member as having said.
“With the new S-Class model, we will overtake our competitors again. And 2015 will be even better. We are learning to understand China better and using that in our product development. We were a bit behind in that area,â€Â Hubertus Troska, who is a member of the management board responsible for Daimler’s division in China, was quoted by Frankfurter AllgemeineZeitung as saying.
Mercedes-Benz had its prior strong momentum in China sales stall in 2012, declining below figures hit by BMW and Audi, according to Reuters. Demand for luxury cars in China is projected to beat that of the United States by 2020.
The company showcased a plan in August that included the introduction of about 20 new or upgraded car models in the Asian market over a period of two years. The strategy is aimed at helping the company bolster its sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in China to more than 300,000 units per year by 2015, representing an increase of more than 30%.
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Troska added that the carmaker will launch a new design studio in Beijing, with another in Tokyo set for closure. It will hire twice the number of engineers it has in China within the next two years from the currently 230.
As DW reported, the company announced record car sales in the first half of 2014. The firm’s car sales experienced the most growth in China, although gains were also posted in distressed European markets.
Within the first six months of this year, Daimler sold a record 783, 520 cars, the firm announced on Friday.
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To contact the reporter of this story; Yashu Gola at yashu@forexminute.com
