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Mercedes eyes small businesses
Date: 20 October 2010 | Author: Rachel Burgess
Mercedes has an opportunity to penetrate the fleet market further by paying more attention to local businesses and the contract hire and leasing community, according to new MD Gary Savage.
Savage, who was appointed in July, is currently putting a strategy in place to ensure its fleet business is more consistent: "It's fair to say we have been a little schizophrenic."
He said dealerships had "the appetite" to maximise SME sales, adding: "We've just got to finesse our approach to fleet."
Market share is currently 3.7%, but Savage hopes to reach 4%. Currently, demand is outstripping supply. "We're selling all the cars we can get," he said. "We've got critically low stock in the UK."
Business volume accounts for around a third of sales, but Savage said he would like to see incremental growth on this share, assisted by the new CLS arriving in March next year.
"I think we've got a challenge with CLS because we defined that marketplace. I'm keen for us to return to market leadership of that segment." This will be helped by a new 250 CDI model with 134g/km CO2, which gives the car broader appeal in the fleet sector, claims Savage.
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