奔驰销量迅猛上升，重新夺回中国豪车市场地盘

    戴姆勒旗下的梅赛德斯-奔驰正在中国豪华轿车领域重回巅峰。

    眼下，同样来自德国的豪华轿车品牌宝马和奥迪艰难地维持着增速，而奔驰的销量开始迅猛上升。

    今年第二季度，奔驰在华销售量达到91152辆，比上年同期的68061辆提高了34%。在日本和韩国，奔驰的销量也分别增长了54%和71%。

    戴姆勒管理委员会主席蔡澈在周四（7月23日）的业绩通报会上表示：“我们认为去年确实没有在中国充分利用自己的品牌。现在我们发现，利用这一潜力的机会比以前好得多。”

    几年前，宝马和奥迪统治着中国的豪华轿车市场，局面和现在完全不同。而自从2006年戴姆勒在中国设立了第一家奔驰工厂以来，奔驰在中国的销量也开始突飞猛进。

    这些年来，随着中国中产阶层喜欢上了高端时尚产品、珠宝和轿车，欧美豪华品牌在中国进入了繁荣期。然而，虽然奢侈品需求不断增长，奔驰的销量却掉了队，部分原因在于该公司的经销网络存在问题。举例来说，2013年奥迪在中国的销量为49.2万辆，而奔驰在年报中公布的销量只有238727辆。

    为夺回一些市场份额，戴姆勒改变了努力方向，开始扩大经销商队伍并大幅调整产品结构。

    蔡澈指出，产品结构、效率的提升、公司在中国的发展以及GLC SUV和GLE Coupe等几款新产品让奔驰前景光明。

    他在业绩通报会上说：“并不是我们的一些竞争对手现在变弱了，所以要看好我们；相反，对手变弱更多的是因为我们的实力增强了，这和过去的局面正好相反。”

    为了进一步强调这个观点，蔡澈补充道：“这是一个时代的开始，而非顶峰。”

    全球市场对奔驰的需求成了今年第二季度戴姆勒的最大利润来源。奔驰的销售利润率从去年同期的7.9%升至10.5%，这是多年来该指标首次达到两位数。

    蔡澈在一份公告中表示：“上半年奔驰的利润率达到了我们的目标。其他汽车业务也基本实现了利润率目标。我们将继续按规划系统性地向前推进。”

    今年第二季度奔驰全球销量为500694辆，比去年同期增长20%。

    整个戴姆勒集团的收入同比上升19%，达到375亿欧元（412亿美元）；净利润24亿欧元（26.4亿美元），提高了8%。

    蔡澈将戴姆勒的成功归结于对新车型的投资，特别是C级轿车。同时，在豪华轿车领域，对手的顶级车型开始变得落伍。比如说，宝马7第五代产品从2008年就推出了（第六代宝马7系产品到今年6月才发布）。

    就新车型和新产品而言，戴姆勒看来并未松懈。该公司披露，今年上半年研发开支为31亿欧元（34.1亿美元），其中逾三分之二都投入了奔驰，用于开发新车型，特别是省油的环保型驱动系统以及安全技术。（财富中文网）

    译者：Charlie

    校对：詹妮

    Daimler’s AG Mercedes-Benz is clawing its way back up to the top of the luxury car heap in China.

    Unlike its German luxury brand rivals BMW and Audi, which have struggled to maintain momentum in China, sales of Mercedes-Benz have surged.

    Unit sales of Mercedes-Benz cars rose 34% in China to 91,152 in the second quarter, compared to 68,061 in the same quarter last year. Unit sales in Japan rose 54%, and 71% in South Korea.

    “We do believe we underutilized our brand in China in past years,” Dieter Zetsche, chairman of Daimler’s board of management said on the company’s earnings call Thursday. “We’ve seen much better chances to exploit that potential now.”

    It was a different story several years ago when BMW and Audi dominated the luxury car market in China. When DDAIY -0.76% opened its first Mercedes-Benz factory in China in 2006, sales leapt forward.

    For years, luxury brands from the U.S. and Europe have thrived as China’s middle class developed a taste for high-end fashion, jewelry, and cars. But even as demand for luxury items increased Mercedes saw sales begin to lag, in part because of problems with its distribution networks. In 2013, for instance, Audi sold nearly 492,000 cars in China; Mercedes sold only 238,727, according to its annual report.

    Daimler shifted its efforts toward taking back some of the market by expanding dealerships and overhauling its model lineup.

    The company’s product portfolio, efficiency improvements, development in China, as well as the introduction of several new models, including the new Mercedes-Benz GLC sport-utility vehicle and the GLE Coupe, all contribute to the company’s positive outlook, Zetsche says.

    “It’s not that you should assume that because some of our competitors are weaker right now this should apply to us,” Zetsche said on the earnings call. “But perhaps it’s more that the weakness of our competitors is the consequence of our strength, as it was the other way around in the past.”

    As if to further press his point, Zetsche added, “This is the beginning of an era, and not a peak.”

    Global demand for Mercedes cars was Daimler’s big profit maker in the second quarter. The car division’s return on sales hit 10.5%, up from 7.9% in second-quarter of 2014 and hitting double digitis for the first time in years.

    “We achieved our targeted margin for Mercedes-Benz cars in the first half of the year. In all other automotive divisions, we are about to achieve our margin targets,” Zetsche said in a statement. “We will systematically continue along the path we have taken.”

    Global unit sales of Mercedes-Benz’s car division increased by 20% from the same quarter last year to 500,694 vehicles.

    Overall, Daimler Group’s revenue jumped 19% in the second quarter to 37.5 billion euros ($41.2 billion) from the same quarter last year. Net profit rose 8% to 2.4 billion euros ($2.64 billion).

    Zetsche credited the company’s success on investment in new models, specifically noting the C-Class sedan. Meanwhile, the top models of its luxury rivals are aging. For instance, the fifth generation of the BMW 7 Series has been in production since 2008. (BMW’s sixth generation of the 7 Series was revealed in June 2015.)

    Daimler doesn’t appear to be taking its foot off the gas, as far as new models and products are concerned. The company reported that its research and development spending in the first half of the year was 3.1 billion euros ($3.41 billion). More than two-thirds of the research and development spending was in the Mercedes-Benz cars segment with capital going towards new vehicle models, particularly fuel-efficient and environmentally friendly drive systems, as well as safety technologies.