Leading Mercedes-Benz on its way of transformation, Nicholas Speeks has a very clear goal that is also a phased goal in his career. “China has the most excellent market in the whole world, which is the main reason for my choice of this place. For me, I will benefit a lot from seeing and feeling these changes. I hope to form a new setup”.
Nicholas Speeks’s strong card is products. By the end of 2015, 13 new modes of vehicles will enter the Chinese market, many of which will be manufactured in large scale in Mercedes-Benz factory in Beijing after expansion of capacity. More modes of vehicles will be manufactured here such as the latest C-Class and GLA, etc.
Talking about the latest C-Class, its segment market is the fiercest battlefield for luxury cars and is also the opportunity market which is likely to have an effect on the market setup. During the first half of 2014, the sales of BMW 3 series vehicles reached 49,000, a growth of 48% over the previous year; Audi sold 50,000 vehicles, a growth of 0.65% compared with a year earlier. The current Mercedes-Benz C-Class vehicles have reached the final phase of production, but its weak sales performance cannot be denied.
However, Nicholas Speeks believes that the latest C-Class will renovate the market setup, “this mode will set a higher standard for vehicles of this level on the body style, the texture of the material used, and the application of advanced technology. We believe C – Class will be a model of cars that will make a difference both for the Chinese market and Mercedes-Benz. We have faith in it to change the setup of the industry.”
Nicholas Speeks also noted that S-Class vehicles were core products for Mercedes-Benz a decade ago, while E-Class was the core.
"In the future, our priority of work is still on the brand promotion." When the positioning of brand is clear, how to let more customers understand the image and core value of different brands is the next key point of Olivier's work and the new project remaining to be studied.
Generation shift will not happen for E-Class until two or two and a half years later. However, Nicholas Speeks has already been preparing for it, “we had many discussions with our head-quarter to inform them the demands of Chinese market and the preferences of Chinese customers. The latest E-Class will be designed to meet the particular demands of Chinese consumers. ”
With an increasing popularity in compact luxury cars, Mercedes-Benz will start the production of GLA in China. It is still under discussion what other modes of vehicles will be produced domestically. In this market segment, Mercedes-Benz has A-Class, B-Class, CLA and GLA, but it is not rushing into this fight.
Nicholas Speeks is clear about the fact, as he told Tencet Auto, that compact luxury car market will turn into a very important one. But Mercedes-Benz will not become a manufacturer of compact cars, “We will try to tap each market segment. However, as a high-end brand, our priority is all the products instead of a single sign of Mercedes-Benz. We will not lower our prices to offer the market with cheaper cars. We would rather focus on the compact market segment with high-quality requirements, which is also of remarkable significance”.
“The best or nothing” , the brand concept of Mercedes-Benz, can be translated into Chinese as “惟有最好”. Nicholas Speeks explained that “this does not mean that every car of Mercedes-Benz is always the best. Instead, it has demonstrated the aspiration of every worker in Mercedes-Benz and those people that are related to this brand.” He told Tencent Auto that “it is the same in China. We hope Mercedes-Bens will not only be better but also leave its legacy here. This has always been the spirit of Mercedes-Bens.” This may be the original reason why Nicholas Speeks is wholeheartedly dedicated to high-end products and high-end brand.[
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