Donnymac

https://www.reuters.com/business/aut...na-2021-10-10/

js_cls

Not surprised, the market in China for luxury cars is booming and ever increasing, according to recent sales figures, BMW does almost as well in China as they do in all of Europe! I imagine MB is very similar in that regard, especially when it comes to cars such as the S-Class and other LWB sedans offered.

Tifoso48

Also, MB will get away with the questionable interior on the new S class in China.

superswiss

Not just Europe. The USA market pales in comparison to China. MB sells almost three times as many cars in China as they do in the USA. Somehow, some people still think the USA is the most important market, but it's not even number two anymore. MB sells more cars back home in Germany alone, than they do in the USA. I've said this many times before. Today's cars are designed for the Chinese market first. The gaudy new M3/4 for example is specifically designed to increase BMW M's market share in China, because AMG outsells BMW M about 3 to 1 in China.

Donnymac

That's all folks!!!

hyperion667

The Chinese are almost as materialistic as us here in the US

5634MG

It's also surprising how MB says they added an 8 to the model numbers to cater to the Chinese because 8 means wealthy and is viewed as auspicious yet it seems like their marketing team didn't really have a grasp on how numbers work in Chinese.

Yes, they got it partially right in that 8 is a good number but they missed how these auspicious numbers work in combinations when there are other numbers; for example, 5 sounds like "no or not" and when strung together in the "580" combination, it basically sounds like "no wealth or not wealthy". However, "680" is a great combination and sounds like "continuous wealth". The model numbers and heritage also played a role with why the 550's remained branded as 500's until the intro of the 560 v8 and 500 i6 model for the W222 because of the model heritage and resonated better with those older money and multigenerational wealth families - older, wealthy tycoons in Asia for example rather than the nouveau riche from the 2000s. Also, the 600 still has more resonance with that population rather than a 650 or 680.

Actually, I do know a lot of very wealthy, older individuals (developers, tycoons) in Asia (HK and mainland China) who are straight up skipping the 580 and getting a 500 instead for a normal LWB W223 as a day to day chauffeur vehicle; they care more about the number as they are not driving yet they don't want to be seen in a 400 or 450 either. They wont bother with the Maybach and would get a Phantom instead.

Here in Vancouver however even though there is a large Chinese population, they don't really care as much as most of the people buying just want the LWB so they're stuck with the 580 but aren't flying off the shelf as quickly as the W222 because of the price increase. A lot of people would rather just spend a bit more and get a Bentley instead. The S class also outsells the 7 by a 10:1 ratio basically. You know the sales of the 7 are bad when they offer corporate incentives of 30-40k on a brand new facelifted vehicle whereas a brand new W223 has a max 2-2.5k courtesy discount and leftover W222 with a max 20k off.

Wolfman

Interesting info!
Mercedes does sell a lot of Maybach's into China. While the first dedicated Maybach models were a commercial failure, the S-Class based Maybach's are making a killing. Every 7th S-Class is a Maybach and the majority go to China

5634MG

Yep that's true as well but also because back in the early 2000s, there weren't as many nouveau riche individuals in Mainland China whereas the wealthy and older money folks in Hong Kong wouldn't want to spend that much money on essentially an MB vehicle when they could get an RR or Bentley.

A lot of the Mainland Chinese do like MB Maybachs because growing up within their culture, they would have viewed the "Three Pointed Star" as the best of the best and has a certain brand resonance and cachet to them; that's why even though they could afford an RR or Bentley, you would see most of the businessmen with an S Class rather than say a higher priced vehicle. The Maybach becomes the top of the line trim for them and are also blingy. Then again, a lot of other high end vehicles are being snapped up because of the newfound wealth.

When they or their children come to the west, the prices pale in comparison to back home hence why you see such a large asian population with high end vehicles or supercars

Star&Car

I don't need to read it,but this article can apply to every premium makers.

Star&Car

I'm shocked how ppl got misimformed like this,the truth is exactly the opposite,M outsells AMG and AMG outsells RS over here in China.

Diesel Benz

A difficult topic, I'm sure we cannot even get any agreement on the definition of which China. Anyway, good if Mercedes cars are more available for the NA and European market.

Donnymac

From the OP link:

Moving the studio to Shanghai was partly driven by the need to significantly speed up the design process by making it more digital, as most virtual model-making vendors are based there."Besides, Shanghai is a lot easier a place to recruit design talent," said the source close to the studio, which is just north of city's prime waterfront district The Bund.