Daimler and Mercedes charging ahead in Year of Horse

"In the Year of the Horse, let's start as a charging horse," said Hubertus Troska, member of the Board of Management at Daimler AG, and chairman and CEO of Daimler Greater China Ltd.

His enthusiasm is based on strong growth by Daimler and Mercedes-Benz in China last year and ambitious plans for the years ahead.

"We won't change our target of achieving 300,000 units in annual sales by 2015. And we are at full acceleration to reach it."

Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Services Co, said Mercedes-Benz delivered more than 228,700 vehicles to Chinese mainland consumers in 2013, up 11 percent over the previous year.

In December alone, Mercedes-Benz sales surged by 27 percent year on year to over 24,600 units.

"The year 2013 was a quite good year as the overall passenger vehicle market in China was better than predicted. We also picked up our sales performance," said Speeks.

In March the German company established Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co by integrating the previous dual sales channels to facilitate efficiency and agility in business operations.

The move was proved a success as sales boomed by 18 percent between March and December.

"The new company goes well as we planned.

"As we will put heavy effort in dealership expansion as well as new product offerings, we are confident we are bringing in the strong momentum in the Year of the Horse," said Speeks. Troska told China Daily that the distribution network is the company's cornerstone to ensure sustainable development and keep Mercedes-Benz competitive in an increasingly challenging market.

In 2013, it added 75 new retail outlets and opened in 36 new locales, bringing its total to 337 dealerships in 151 Chinese cities.

"That was the fastest speed we ever had in China," said Troska.

"And in the new year, we will further speed up expansion by adding 100 new showrooms and cover 40 more new cities."

"After Chengdu, the biggest Mercedes-Benz training center will be inaugurated in Shanghai this year, reinforcing our commitment to always providing the best service to our prestige customers," said Speeks.

"Brand value is of the same importance as sales volume."