The Bean Counters are in!

[grober]

The savings are being sought by Daimler’s Ola Kaellenius, who will become Chief Executive in May.
Separately, Kaellenius will not renew common projects with French carmaker Renault and Nissan, letting an alliance between the carmakers lapse, the magazine Manager Magazin said.

Daimler to seek 6 billion euros in cost savings at Mercedes - Manager Magazin - Reuters

Daimler Seeks $6.75 Billion in Cost Cuts, Will Axe 10,000 Jobs Overall: Report

 

[markjay]

I wonder how much money they can save by not galvanising their cars... hang on, they've tried it already and that didn't go very well.

 

[merc85]

I wonder how much money they can save by not galvanising their cars... hang on, they've tried it already and that didn't go very well.

Did it make much difference ? lol

 

[grober]

Did it make much difference ? lol

I suspect that it made little difference to Mercedes sales but in an expanding mid sector luxury saloon meant many of Mercedes potential new customers may well have been mopped up by the relatively new kid on the block AUDI.

 

[markjay]

I suspect that it made little difference to Mercedes sales but in an expanding mid sector luxury saloon meant many of Mercedes potential new customers may well have been mopped up by the relatively new kid on the block AUDI.

Well the graph shows how sales plummeted following the merger with Chrysler... galvanising started just after where the graph ends (2013).

 

[whitenemesis]

galvanising started just after where the graph ends (2013).

I thought MB started galvanising their shells about 2004?

 

[grober]

Brand perception is a complex entity and one thing that should perhaps be taken into account is the timeshift from model introduction till ownership experience influences owner perception of a manufacturers body/paint longevity in the longer term and finally become more widely disseminated among the car buying public. Equally once lost it may take some time to win that confidence back despite manufacturers concrete efforts to do so??

 

[markjay]

I thought MB started galvanising their shells about 2004?

Of course.... I was thinking of 2003.... not 2013.... dyslexia strikes again

 

[grober]

Who is Ola Kaellenius? The new Daimler CEO and boss of Mercedes-Benz

 

[tron]

How to make cost savings: reduce the number of bits. The amount of small plastic gewgaws stuck on every corner of the newer cars must account for a huge amount of the costs. Reduce the number of options. Three trim level range. Book keeper, junior exec and fully loaded. One coupe, one convertible, one hatchback, two saloons and estates. Seven models. Either you want a Mercedes-Benz or you don't. Niche marketing gets you nowhere. Two petrols, two diesels, one hybrid and a planetshagger engine for the top model. Drop the irrelevant Maybach vanity project. That's the parts inventory halved. Drop AMG. it is as irrelevant as Ghia is on a ford Fiesta. Make a smaller range of fantastic motor cars with a build quality worthy of the name.

 

[MrRight]

drop AMG? that's 10 percent of sales gone immediately ... no one is going to buy ”merc sport” branded models . Also loads of folks get AMG trim models for the brand feel good factor which have quite a premium over base. I would hesitate to drop AMG for no good reason

 

[clk320x]

Drop AMG

Are you serious?

 

[tron]

Of course I am. Stuff the branding. Do you really think people will stop buying Mercedes Benz without it?

 

[Deleted member 6183]

Are you serious?

Check the context.

 

[Edd1968]

.. So in other words, there is a risk that Mercedes, much like BMW, will end up losing their 'premium brand' status and become another run of the mill car manufacturer.
With what's on offer now from the competitors why would the populous want to buy a Mercedes at a premium price?

 

[MrRight]

putting it into context , they're only cutting 0.33 percent of their work force . Alliances with Nissan seem an idea to cut horn brands like Infiniti not really doing much. Overall, merc outsold BMW for the first time last year for quite a long while and that ought to be seen as a positive sign for the trajectory of the business overall. Merc products are desirable and in markets like the UK, the A and C class are outselling the comparative models from the competition. Britain’s 20 best-selling cars in 2018 revealed | Motoring Research

AMG on the other hand is a halo brand and there is a massive virtuous circle effect. Plus with Lewis Hamilton doing fantastically well in formula 1, it is the perfect time to enlarge the AMG offering which is what merc are doing with their 35, 43, 53 models. Culling AMG would be killing the goose that laid the golden egg . Certainly most young people are aspiring to drive the more sporty offerings from car manufacturers and ”diluting ” the AMG brand and making mainstream seems a great strategy to me rather than making AMG more niche , or killing it.

Smart on the other hand seems the one to put in front of the firing line, unless emissions from smart can be counted towards the total emissions footprint of the business and they can make their cars more popular, though their competition is very fierce. What Fiat does with their 500 model and Abarth is really working well too. Smart and Brabus... not so much at all.

 

[Bellow]

Smart on the other hand seems the one to put in front of the firing line, unless emissions from smart can be counted towards the total emissions footprint of the business and they can make their cars more popular, though their competition is very fierce. What Fiat does with their 500 model and Abarth is really working well too. Smart and Brabus... not so much at all.

I think, after the current fortwo model reaches its end, all future smarts will be electric only. Like you, I wonder the part smart plays in MB's overall emissions goals. From the enormous goodwill generated by the first model and Roadster, the brand has been catastrophically manged. Look at how BMW has taken mini and ran with it to see what could have been. Even Fiat with its 500 (to a lesser extent).

Re dilution of AMG. Is Brabus waiting in the wings for when a power-is-all moniker is required?

 

[Deletedmember130310]

.... Also loads of folks get AMG trim models for the brand feel good factor which have quite a premium over base....

I can't the difference in the quality of materials used on the AMG line to the "base" line - to my eye, the AMG lines merely have additional trinkets and more complex / costly body work addendum. Perhaps I missing the point and value of the AMG Line...

 

[Deleted member 6183]

I can't the difference in the quality of materials used on the AMG line to the "base" line - to my eye, the AMG lines merely have additional trinkets and more complex / costly body work agenda. Perhaps I missing the point and value of the AMG Line...

I agree, AMG spoilers, diffusers and trim designed for additional brake cooling are wasted on a 4 pot diesel model.

My Mrs' SLK has the AMG trim and I find it undrivable with the roof up, the suspension clunks like an iron bed in a brothel.

 

[tron]

They are not designed for brake cooling. They are designed to sell to boy racers of all ages.