Mercedes pumps sales of slow-selling C coupes; retail incentive stays at $1,500
03-04-2003, 09:25 AM
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Mercedes pumps sales of slow-selling C coupes; retail incentive stays at $1,500
Mercedes-Benz USA LLC last week launched a month-long program to whittle down a six-month glut of unsold C-class coupes.
The program pays dealers $4,000 for each C320K or C320C that the dealer buys before March 31 to use as a demonstrator or service-department loaner.
A $1,500 retail incentive on 2003 model C-class coupes sold new to consumers is unchanged.
The purpose of the new program is to increase the size of each dealer's alternate transportation fleet, that is demos and loaners, says Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman Donna Boland. "We're inviting more customers to take test drives in the coupes."
The program nominally runs Feb. 1 to March 31, but it wasn't announced until Thursday, Feb. 27. That still gave dealers a couple of days to report some or all of their C-class coupes as sold in February.
The company had about 4,000 C-class coupes in dealer inventory last week, so C-class sales likely could show an uptick of as many as 3,000 units when February tallies are reported this week, according to one dealer source. Since new shipments are en route to dealers, March totals likely will be inflated, too, he says.
The sales bulge isn't likely to be that big, says Stavros Paraskevdaides, sales operations manager for Mercedes. He says coupe sales have been running about 900 a month, which could double to 1,800 as a result of the program.
He says the days supply is abnormally high for a reason. "We had to front-load coupe production so we could switch to production of the sports sedan," he says.
Dealers reached last week seemed eager to use the program, which includes 2002 and 2003 C-class coupes. They say coupe inventories have piled up because of a lack of marketing and advertising support. "It's dead merchandise," one dealer said.
Part of the problem is that hatchback models are not as popular in the United States as they are in Europe. Dealers are selling to a new customer and must persuade consumers to try the hatchbacks.
"We don't think the car is in trouble," Boland says. "It's a new segment where the dealer is not in his comfort zone yet. The car is critical to bring new buyers to the brand."
The four-cylinder C230K was introduced as a 2002 model. The six-cylinder C320C version was new for 2003.
Vehicles that are sold to dealers are supposed to remain in demo and loaner fleets for four months and all must be sold as pre-owned, even though they have not been titled, Boland says. If dealers sell a vehicle out of the demo fleet early they must replace it in the fleet or face a chargeback of the $4,000 allowance.
Michael Familetti, general manager of Autobahn Motors in Belmont, Calif., says he hasn't had any problem moving C-class coupes because Enterprise Rent-A-Car buys them.
Dealer Chuck Reynolds of RBM of Atlanta welcomes the program. The dealership had about 25 of the coupes on the lot last Friday, with more on the way. Says Reynolds: "I want to move them."
The program pays dealers $4,000 for each C320K or C320C that the dealer buys before March 31 to use as a demonstrator or service-department loaner.
A $1,500 retail incentive on 2003 model C-class coupes sold new to consumers is unchanged.
The purpose of the new program is to increase the size of each dealer's alternate transportation fleet, that is demos and loaners, says Mercedes-Benz spokeswoman Donna Boland. "We're inviting more customers to take test drives in the coupes."
The program nominally runs Feb. 1 to March 31, but it wasn't announced until Thursday, Feb. 27. That still gave dealers a couple of days to report some or all of their C-class coupes as sold in February.
The company had about 4,000 C-class coupes in dealer inventory last week, so C-class sales likely could show an uptick of as many as 3,000 units when February tallies are reported this week, according to one dealer source. Since new shipments are en route to dealers, March totals likely will be inflated, too, he says.
The sales bulge isn't likely to be that big, says Stavros Paraskevdaides, sales operations manager for Mercedes. He says coupe sales have been running about 900 a month, which could double to 1,800 as a result of the program.
He says the days supply is abnormally high for a reason. "We had to front-load coupe production so we could switch to production of the sports sedan," he says.
Dealers reached last week seemed eager to use the program, which includes 2002 and 2003 C-class coupes. They say coupe inventories have piled up because of a lack of marketing and advertising support. "It's dead merchandise," one dealer said.
Part of the problem is that hatchback models are not as popular in the United States as they are in Europe. Dealers are selling to a new customer and must persuade consumers to try the hatchbacks.
"We don't think the car is in trouble," Boland says. "It's a new segment where the dealer is not in his comfort zone yet. The car is critical to bring new buyers to the brand."
The four-cylinder C230K was introduced as a 2002 model. The six-cylinder C320C version was new for 2003.
Vehicles that are sold to dealers are supposed to remain in demo and loaner fleets for four months and all must be sold as pre-owned, even though they have not been titled, Boland says. If dealers sell a vehicle out of the demo fleet early they must replace it in the fleet or face a chargeback of the $4,000 allowance.
Michael Familetti, general manager of Autobahn Motors in Belmont, Calif., says he hasn't had any problem moving C-class coupes because Enterprise Rent-A-Car buys them.
Dealer Chuck Reynolds of RBM of Atlanta welcomes the program. The dealership had about 25 of the coupes on the lot last Friday, with more on the way. Says Reynolds: "I want to move them."
