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DaimlerChrysler plans sales drive in China
(Agencies)
Updated: 2004-08-09 09:29
German-US automaker DaimlerChrysler said it was planning a new sales
offensive in China by vastly expanding its dealer network, marking a fresh
attempt to shore up its Asian operations.
A Mercedes A-Class passes the main gate to the
headquarters of the DaimlerChrysler company in Stuttgart, Germany.
German-US automaker DaimlerChrysler said it was planning a new sales
offensive in China by vastly expanding its dealer network, marking a fresh
attempt to shore up its Asian operations.
[AFP/file] |
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung (FASZ) said the company would
boost the number of dealers of its luxury brand Mercedes Benz to 217 in 68
Chinese cities by 2012, up from 33 dealers in 23 cities in 2002.
DaimlerChrysler spokesman Toni Melfi said the company would not comment on
specific figures cited in the report but acknowledged it had major plans in
China.
"I cannot confirm the exact numbers but we do plan to greatly expand the
dealer network and expand our metropolis strategy to Chinese cities," Melfi
said.
DaimlerChrysler also aims to use low-interest loans for dealers and customers
to speed up sales.
"We will bolster the sales of DaimlerChrysler brands with financial
services," management board member Ruediger Grube told the FASZ.
Grube said
the company was also trying to form a joint venture for
trucks and buses, adding that it was the "first company worldwide" to deliver
energy-efficient buses running on fuel cells to China.
"There are already three operating in Beijing," he said.
Grube said that beyond China, DaimlerChrysler was also eyeing the Indian
market for an expansion drive.
He said that in the "medium term" Daimler would sell three million cars per
year there and noted that Mercedes already claimed 60 percent of the market
share for luxury automobiles.
"That shows we are on the right track. And we will continue to strengthen our
investments there," he said.
DaimlerChrysler's Asia strategy was called into question in April when it
decided to pull the plug on further financing for its Japanese partner
Mitsubishi, which is posting heavy losses.
The move, which came as a surprise, was widely interpreted as a setback for
the company's ambitious international expansion campaign.
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