Mercedes-Benz sales review in the first half of the year: obvious month-on-month

tech | 2024-07-11

In the first half of 2024, Mercedes-Benz delivered over 352,600 new vehicles, with a nearly 10% sequential growth in deliveries in China during the second quarter. In the just-concluded month of June, the insured volume of the long-wheelbase E-Class was 15,200 units—making it the best-selling model in the sedan market above 300,000 yuan, regardless of energy form.

So, how ignorant must one be to claim that Mercedes-Benz is not doing well. Without further ado, let's highlight the key points:

1. In the core luxury product matrix, including the E-Class, Mercedes-Benz's deliveries grew by nearly 6% in the first half of 2024, with a sequential growth of over 15% in the second quarter.

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2. Among them, the long-wheelbase E-Class has seen a continuous increase in deliveries since its launch in December last year, with a sequential growth of over 85% in the second quarter; the year-on-year growth in deliveries for the long-wheelbase C-Class sedan and the long-wheelbase GLC SUV in the first half of the year reached 32% and 49% respectively.3. Thanks to the increased delivery of the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class, Mercedes-Benz remains the top choice for customers in the luxury car market above one million.

4. After the new CLE coupe was launched in March, the new CLE convertible coupe has also officially hit the market recently. It can be said that Mercedes is the only one that still has the ambition to introduce such a luxury dream model that embodies ultimate aesthetics in 2024.

5. With the global debut of the new all-electric G-Class SUV, the new Maybach EQS all-electric SUV, and the new long-wheelbase plug-in hybrid E-Class, not only has it garnered user expectations and positive reviews, but it has also further imprinted a deeper sense of luxury on Mercedes-Benz's new energy products.

In summary, after the supply chain issues that plagued core luxury domestic models at the end of last year and the beginning of this year were resolved, the sequential growth data for the second quarter of this year is very impressive. This also indicates that the previous decline in sales of Mercedes-Benz's core models was not much related to the external environment, but was more due to production constraints.

In the luxury market above one million, Mercedes-Benz is still the first choice for the wealthy. Behind the traffic symbols such as "Zhou Hongyi's 9.9 million auction of Maybach" and "Zhu Bingren's grandson, the Maybach young master, scores 700 points in the college entrance exam," what is actually reflected is still the top-tier crowd's recognition of Mercedes-Benz. After all, in the top luxury market, what is sold is not just a car, but a consensus.Configurations can be easily stacked, but consensus is hard to break. For the top echelon, a Maybach is just a car. Yet this car carries an indispensable symbolic meaning—this symbolism needs no explanation, nor does it require much elaboration, because only brands that are not luxurious enough need to explain. The fact that anything associated with "Maybach" is more likely to trend on social media further illustrates the unbreakable nature of this consensus.

In the new energy product market, in the first half of 2024, Mercedes-Benz's new offerings seem to have little to do with the average consumer, aside from the all-new long-wheelbase plug-in hybrid E-Class. Behind these new energy models is actually Mercedes-Benz's effort to reinforce its more luxurious positioning, laying the groundwork for the introduction of more new energy vehicles in the second half of the year.

Personally, I am more fond of the two models in the dream car series: the CLE Coupe and the CLE Cabriolet. Both are masterpieces that reflect the aesthetic value of a luxury brand. Especially the convertible, where not messing up one's hairstyle and having neck heating are not just configurations; they are also part of Mercedes-Benz's traditional art of being both stylish and elegant. In this era of intense competition, who else can be as meticulous and carefully crafted as Mercedes-Benz on such niche models?

Dreams are, after all, a luxury. However, the CLE Cabriolet, priced at over half a million, is not so unattainable in today's context. The core value of these models is not really related to sales volume. They are the aesthetic taste of Mercedes-Benz and an expression of their design philosophy.In the second half of 2024, Mercedes-Benz will continue to introduce new models and cutting-edge technologies for the niche market, focusing on pure electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles:

1. A range of significant new energy products will be launched in the second half of the year, including the all-new pure electric G-Class off-road vehicle, the all-new long-wheelbase GLC plug-in hybrid SUV, the new generation EQA pure electric SUV and EQB pure electric SUV, and the latest revised pure electric EQE, among others.

2. The year 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of the G-Class off-road vehicle. In addition to the all-new pure electric G-Class, the G-Class family will also welcome classic upgrades to models such as the new G 500 and the new G 63. The PROJECT MONDO G art car, co-created with Moncler, will also be exhibited within the year.

3. The Mercedes me APP was refreshed and relaunched in June, with the official community "Star Friends Club" upgrading and moving in. As of the date, more than 8 million Chinese users have created a Mercedes-Benz account (Mercedes me ID).4. The largest-scale OTA upgrade of the year will be initiated, expected to cover 1.5 million existing car owners.

A more significant piece of news deserves a separate mention:

The mass-produced vehicles of Mercedes-Benz's new MMA platform will start production at Beijing Benz from 2025, with pure electric models adopting a full-domain 800-volt electrical architecture. The MMA models will be equipped with the luxury brand's first self-developed architecture from the car to the cloud—MB.OS, enabling lifelong digital iteration and evolution of the vehicles.

Behind the imagination of the new platform products, with the Shanghai R&D center welcoming an upgrade and the commissioning of a new building in April this year, the R&D team in China has also entered a period of rapid development. In various fields such as advanced design, intelligent connectivity, electric mobility, autonomous driving, localization, and whole-vehicle testing, Mercedes-Benz's R&D team in China is creating products and experiences that "understand China better" at "China speed."

This is also the reason why everyone experiences a vehicle system and navigation interface on the all-new Mercedes-Benz E-Class that is at least one generation ahead of competitors like the all-new BMW 5 Series. What Mercedes-Benz embodies in the new E is the R&D team's "understanding of China." The highly forward-looking layout of the Shanghai R&D center not only signifies Mercedes-Benz's confidence in the era of smart electric vehicles but also shows a high regard for the Chinese market's users.This is not only a true "in China, for China" approach. In the areas of intelligent cockpit and autonomous driving, which are highly valued by users and profoundly influence their perception, Mercedes-Benz stands in the fastest-growing and most competitive market, and is also driving global development with "Chinese strength."

Beyond products and technology, on the philanthropic front, the Mercedes-Benz Star Fund officially launched its third public welfare cooperation with the Palace Museum in May this year, and the "Jingfu Palace Research and Conservation" project has entered the renovation phase; in the second half of the year, a new phase of public welfare cooperation with the Dunhuang Research Institute is also about to commence.

It is worth mentioning that Mercedes-Benz is the only international brand that has established long-term public welfare partnerships with both the Palace Museum and Dunhuang, two of the quintessential treasures of Chinese tradition, with the aim of continuously supporting cultural heritage and mutual learning among civilizations.

In terms of popularizing children's traffic safety education, the Star Fund has also joined hands with the Research Center of the Ministry of Public Security for Road Traffic Safety and the China Children's Press and Publication Group to release the "China Children's Traffic Safety Blue Book Series: Research Report on Traffic Safety Education for Primary and Secondary School Students."It can be said that by 2024, there are actually only a few brands that can continue to invest and diligently cultivate in public welfare. In the current context, it is understandable for brands not to engage in public welfare, but continuous investment in public welfare is a matter of brand commitment. Mercedes-Benz, which has devoted efforts to children's traffic safety, natural heritage protection, animal protection, and cultural relic protection, still practices long-termism in both product values and brand philosophy.

Conclusion by Jia Shi:

In this impetuous era, only the ignorant would think that Mercedes-Benz, with an annual sales volume still above 600,000 units and an unbreakable luxury label of a million, is "not doing well."

In the first half of 2024, despite fierce market competition, brands that can stabilize the first half must have done something right earlier on.

For example, they continue to value and expand local R&D, bringing intelligent product experiences that understand China better on the new generation E-class car, such as L2+/L2++, 8295 chips, and MB.OS.For instance, with continuous investment in electrification, the first mass-produced vehicle on the MMA platform equipped with an 800V platform will be available for domestic production and launch next year.

The sustained growth of core luxury models is not only due to the product's own strength but also benefits from Mercedes-Benz's continuous investment in public welfare projects, F1, and legendary models, among other areas.

It seems that Mercedes-Benz understands better than others that only with dreams can the brand's ceiling be higher than others. The value of a luxury brand lies neither in pricing nor in configuration.

In 2024, observing and reviewing everything Mercedes-Benz has done behind the sales figures will be more valuable. When we are all debating "whether xx is really a luxury brand" or "what exactly is a luxury brand," Mercedes-Benz uses its own position as the inventor of the automobile to illustrate:

A luxury brand itself is a call that touches people's hearts and also an unbreakable consensus.The act of summoning is not about immediate possession and gratification. In an era where "everyone can be extravagant," it is precisely those things and qualities that are not easily attainable that can awaken and stir people's hearts, truly invoking their yearning.