KUALA LUMPUR: In a record-breaking 2015 for the three-pointed star, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia sold 10,845 vehicles which represented a 56% year-on-year sales jump.
Leading the sales chart were the locally produced C-, E- and S-Class.
As Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s first locally produced diesel hybrid, the E-Class took the top spot with 3,383 units sold, compared to 2,212 in 2014.
The C-Class followed closely with positive sales figures of 2,697 units, a 56% increase from 2014.
Rounding up sales figures with continued growth was the Mercedes-Benz flagship S400L Hybrid, recording sales of 1,909 units in 2015, up 201% year-on-year.
Overall, a total of 7,989 units locally produced cars were sold.
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s compact vehicles maintained a steady sales growth with a combined double-digit increase of 21%.
The CLA, posted the highest sales with 959 units (up 74% year-on-year).
The A-Class and GLA maintained a strong momentum registering 832 units and 816 units respectively.
Overall, Mercedes-Benz compact vehicles sold a total of 2,811 units.
“2015 produced many milestones for the Mercedes-Benz brand in Malaysia, both on the product and customer service fronts. Some of these included the launch of the Mercedes-Benz Dream Cars collection and the launch of the Hap Seng Star Kota Kinabalu showroom. As we mark our 13th year in Malaysia and the brand’s 130th year as the inventor of the automobile, we are more aligned than ever in pairing a ‘Best or nothing’ model line-up complete with the best ownership experience in the business,” said Mercedes-Benz Malaysia president and CEO Dr Claus Weidner.
At the ‘heart’ of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s success has been the Pekan production plant and its strong service and dealer network.
The Pekan production plant in Pahang recently celebrated a new milestone of producing over 7,710 Mercedes-Benz cars in a single year.
It was also crowned the first and only CKD country to successfully implement a two-shift production which began in April 2015.
This was implemented to cater to the significantly increasing production volume of the S- and C-Class vehicles.
On the after-sales front, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia hosted the South East Asia Service Excellence award in February 2015, recognising dealers for their commitment to customer service.
In addition, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s authorised dealerships, Cycle and Carriage Bintang Batu Caves and Hap Seng Star Kinrara, were both recertified as Centres of Competence.
On a macro level, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has also worked to further develop the skilled workforce of the country, training selected students from Malaysia’s Ministry of Youth and Sport for the automotive industry.
Under this collaboration, signed in August 2015, the first batch of trainees are expected to graduate this year and will be channeled through various after sales service centres nationwide.
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has also continued to engage the community through its MobileKids programme focusing on road safety at JayaOne and a car-seat sponsorship initiative where a total of 110 child car safety seats were rented out for free during the festive season.
In 2015, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia also participated in various events as the official transport provider, such as the International Sports Medicine and Sports Science Conference in August 2015 and Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition 2015 (LIMA’15) in January.
“With 28 official appointed dealers, we have the largest network for a premium automotive manufacturer and we do not intend to stop here. We are continuously upgrading our existing dealerships and with our two latest additions in East Malaysia, we are focused on expanding our presence in this country,” said Dr Weidner.
