The competition in the high-end car market is becoming more and more fierce, and as the deadline for strict control of the fuel rate in the European and American markets approaches, such a fierce battle seems to be fully concentrated in the small car field.
The German "Financial Times" revealed on August 25 that the Mercedes-Benz brand plans to start production of small cars in Eastern Europe together with Renault-Nissan in 2016, which will also include small SUV models. It is not difficult to see that the motivation behind this action of Daimler Group is to work hard on a small car, and at the same time strive to narrow the gap with competitors such as BMW and Audi.
Increased competition
In 2011, the competition in the high-end car market was as intense as the Hollywood movie. BMW won the first place, but Mercedes-Benz was overtaken by Audi, ranking third. On the surface is a subtle change in the ranking of the top three rankings, but behind them is a more intense contest in the dark.
In 2012, with the rapid increase in the demand for small cars in the international metropolis, the stricter fuel rate period is approaching, and even the desire for high fuel economy of high-end cars is low. The high-end car manufacturers are not only in large cars and SUVs. In addition to frequent efforts, it seems that they are paying more attention to the competition of small high-end market segments.
In the case of Mercedes-Benz, the goal is to increase its small car product line from the current two to at least five in the next two years. In 2011, the Mercedes-Benz brand sold 178,000 small cars. IHS expects that by 2015, Mercedes-Benz's small car sales will reach 500,000 units, accounting for one-third of its total sales.
According to IHS, the global high-end car market for small cars will show a high growth rate of 38% in 2012, which greatly exceeds the forecast of the German auto market that the global auto market will increase by 4%. From this, it can be seen that small high-end cars The huge business opportunities in the market, and even the development of the global automotive market continues to move toward small cars.
Cost pressure
Since last year, in the top three global high-end cars, the Mercedes-Benz brand not only bears pressure from sales, but also tends to be weaker in terms of profits than its rivals.
The data shows that in the second quarter of this year, Audi's profit margin was 11.6%, BMW was 11.5%, and Mercedes-Benz only 8.6%. In order to cut costs further, Mercedes-Benz chose to develop and produce with Nissan-Renault, which has a cooperation agreement in 2010. Small cars are imperative.
Regarding the question of whether Nissan-Renault will damage the Mercedes brand power, the Daimler Group said that this is a redundant concern, not to mention that the consumers of small cars are not as sensitive to the brand as S-Class owners.
Since the beginning of this year, the cost-fighting car companies are far more than Daimler. In February, GM and PSA announced cooperation in the field of small cars. In June, BMW and Toyota announced that they will expand cooperation to various fields. All this shows that in the future, The synergy between technology and resources between enterprises to achieve cost savings will continue.
Concealed
The Volkswagen Group's leading position in the global automotive industry continues, and it also focuses its strategy on high-end small cars.
The German media wrote on August 25 that in order to keep sales growing, Volkswagen Group will rely on the Audi A3 to withstand the challenges from the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. A3 was first promoted in Europe in 1996. It had a bright performance, and the Volkswagen Group also wanted to challenge BMW's first position.
The new Audi A3 has just been listed in Germany, and the Mercedes-Benz A-Class is closely followed, and will be launched in Germany on September 15. In order to attract more young consumers, the two have tried their best to make a big fuss in the entertainment function and make even more improvements in the security system. For the Chinese and American markets where hatchbacks are less popular, Audi has launched a strategy to use the A3 sedan version against Mercedes-Benz CLA.
For the competition between Audi and Mercedes-Benz, IHS believes that in the end, Audi will be better at more competitive prices and new technologies. IHS predicts that in 2013, A3 sales will increase by 50% to nearly 250,000 units, BMW 1 Series sales will be 200,000 units, and Mercedes-Benz A-class sales will be 170,000 units. Peter Schwarzenbauer, president of Audi sales, predicts that the sales of the new A3 will increase by 25% compared to the sales of the old models.
In this regard, Simon Empson, president of Broadspeed.com in the UK, said: "Market data shows that the energy storage behind the Audi brand is more obvious."
The other side of the fierce battle did not show weakness. Mercedes-Benz product president Thomas Weber said in March this year that the "A" of the A-class car represents "offensive", indicating that Mercedes-Benz is determined to win the small car market.
In 2012, there will be more than half of the competition in the high-end car market, which will focus on small cars.
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