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Mercedes-Benz Commercial Vehicles is aiming to move up three places to become the second biggest operator in the LCV market via growth through its new Citan light van and by specifically targeting certain industry sectors it feels it has potential to develop.
"We've identified certain areas of the industry to focus on, such as construction, that used to be ruled by the Transit but are now swinging more towards the Sprinter," the firm's national fleet sales manager, Andy Lawson, told BusinessCar. "We've identified high-performing fleets we want to maintain, grow and conquer."
He said the firm is looking at 16 different sectors of the market, most of which overlap, such as construction with facilities management. "In the UK, 70% of the market is fleet in the van sector so you will see a large focus going into the fleet structure over the next five years," Lawson continued. "As a brand we're being more aggressive and operating more strategically than ever before."
The new Citan will also be a catalyst for Mercedes' van ambitions. "From a fleet perspective it completes the portfolio and gives us access to customers we've not been able to access before. If we've got a solus client we've now got a full range of products."
Mercedes was fifth in the table of commercial vehicle sales last year, but Lawson claimed that was a net second position if the light van sales, an area it has previously not competed in, were removed for each brand. "If you look at it now, we're number two without car-derived vans. The Citan will play a part - it's a product we've never had - but we're looking to increase the Sprinter and Vito," he said. "Our aspiration is to be number two."
In the fleet sector, Lawson said Mercedes-Benz's van division has three main objectives: "We have to make sure we are close to the existing customer base, we've got to grow our share of customers' fleet - e.g. if they're buying a Sprinter then they should be buying a Vito - and the third is, without detriment to existing customers, to go out and secure more business."
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