Like the herd of possessed swine cast off the cliff by Jesus Himself, so too went the way of Mercedes-Benz USA’s sales in January. They went down. Down, down, down. Specifically, the U.S. division of the luxury brand managed to achieve what some would have before considered impossible – shipping exactly 42.9 percent fewer vehicles than they did only a year ago. In total, MBUSA delivered 10,433, compared to 18,275 units in January 2008.
What makes the decline even more interesting is that this January marked the beginning of a U.S. advertising blitz for the new GLK-Class, with television spots and print ads for the new SUV popping up on a nearly daily basis. Even with the new ad bombardment, a quick scan of the other top luxury automakers January figures reveals that MBUSA outdid them all, with Lexus being the only brand coming close to Mercedes-Benz USA’s catastrophic decline (-37.7 percent).
So what does this mean for Mercedes-Benz USA’s marketing department? It means that what they’re doing isn’t working, and to be honest, we can’t say we’re surprised. I won’t go into specifics today, but I will say that last year, we sent Mercedes a proposal that would have been far more effective than any of MBUSA’s current marketing attempts. Call it a vision into the future, if you will – one that we had the opportunity to sit down and present to the company a few months ago, and one that they blatantly and unfortunately dismissed. Now, kicking off a new year, Mercedes-Benz USA is at the forefront of the luxury automotive segment, not as the industry leader, but rather as the brand holding title as the month’s most substantial loser.
It’s a difficult economic environment, but at the same time, it’s at times like these that the true measure of a company’s ingenuity and character can be seen. The truth is that there’s more to selling cars than airing a few unimaginative television and print ads, but until MBUSA becomes receptive to this fact, I expect little to change in the company’s position amidst the luxury segment.
For more info regarding Mercedes-Benz USA’s January sales figures, keep reading for the official press release.
