More young motorists opt for Mercedes over BMW

The Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedan / Courtesy of Mecedes-Benz Korea

By Jhoo Dong-chan

An increasing number of wealthy young Korean motorists are choosing Mercedes-Benz over BMW cars seemingly for the former’s design and enhanced driving performance.

According to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association, Mercedes-Benz Korea had a record high market share of 33.1 percent in sales among imported auto brands over the first four months of the year.

No imported auto brand has sustained out more than 30 percent in annual market share since the Seoul-based organization started compiling data in 2003. But Mercedes-Benz Korea is expected to reach this unchartered territory this year.

The previous record was its German rival BMW Korea’s 27.9 percent in 2003.

With the popularity of the new E-Class sedan and SUV models, Mercedes-Benz Korea managed to beat BMW Korea in sales for the first time last year. It is continuing its momentum with a 48 percent sales increase during the January to April this year period from 2016.

Industry insiders say Mercedes-Benz Korea was able to achieve such notable success with its aggressive marketing especially with its small- and mid-size sedans and sports utility vehicles (SUV), which are popular among young motorists.

“Mercedes-Benz and BMW have competed with each other in a wider range of vehicle divisions. In the small- and mid-size sedan and SUV divisions, BMW vehicles had traditionally been more popular among young motorists for their dynamic driving performance. Mercedes-Benz used to be popular especially among the older generation in Korea for its classy design and luxurious driving characteristics,” said an industry insider.

“However, such a dichotomy is getting blurred since the German automaker duo has sought to encroach on each other’s turf for years. I believe Mercedes-Benz has been so far more successful in the race at least in Korea.”

In order to attract more drivers in their 30s, Mercedes-Benz has enhanced its small-size A-Class compact sedan as well as the CLA and GLA lineup. The new E-Class mid-size sedan has been regarded as sporty.

Departing from its traditional design philosophy, Mercedes-Benz also brought radical design changes to its coupes. Especially, the C200 Coupe sedan gained popularity among young people for its sleek design. A Mercedes-Benz Korea official said it sold 140 C200 Coupe sedans in April alone.

Thanks to Mercedes-Benz’s expansion in small-sized sedans and SUVs, it garnered a 27.4 percent market share among the nation’s 30-something drivers during the January to April period compared to 27 percent for BMW. It was also the first time for Mercedes-Benz to exceed BMW in market share for the age group.

Mercedes-Benz also introduced its new GLC Coupe SUV in April. Resembling the C200 Coupe’s exterior, the SUV features a sports car-like sleek C-pillar line with extended LED rear lamps.

It was the firm’s first SUV coupe. Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis said the company “aims at selling more than 10,000 SUVs in Korea this year through adding the GLC Coupe to its lineup.” Mercedes-Benz Korea sold 8,919 SUVs here last year.

An industry observer says Mercedes-Benz Korea will continue its momentum for awhile.

“From the perspective of Mercedes-Benz, there is no contender in the market now,” he said.

“Volkswagen and Audi are not in the market since the government imposed a sales ban on the two carmakers following dieselgate. Jaguar also didn’t do very well this year. Perhaps, BMW is the only imported auto brand that could compete against Mercedes-Benz with its all-new 5-Series sedan this year, but it will be very difficult to impact the market with a single model.”

Prof. Kim Pil-soo at Daelim University concurred.

“Mercedes-Benz is not what it used to be. It continues to put forth models with unprecedented designs and features, which meet the tastes of young drivers. That’s why youngsters snap up Mercedes-Benz vehicles,” he said.

“BMW is also trying hard but Mercedes-Benz is moving too fast. BMW is moving ahead at 50 kilometers per hour but Mercedes-Benz is charging ahead at 100 kilometers per hour. That’s why the former cannot catch up with the latter.”

Prof. Kim expected that Mercedes-Benz would win out in the two-way competition with BMW in Korea for the time being.

“It remains to be seen how BMW Korea would deal with the challenges. Maybe the task is up to the BMW head office, not BMW Korea,” he said.