Investors pressed Mercedes-Benz on its recovery plans for China on Thursday, reports Reuters, warning that a luxury-focused strategy could hurt the German brand’s chances of winning back Chinese consumers after a slump in sales.
Like rivals BMW and Audi, Mercedes has lost ground in the world’s largest car market, struggling to keep pace with fast-moving local brands such as BYD, NIO and Li Auto, which offer tech-laden premium cars at lower prices.
“Customers in China today buy innovation, not tradition. Anyone who isn’t a technological leader there becomes a status symbol of a bygone era,” said Moritz Kronenberger of Union Investment, a top-20 shareholder with about $276 million worth of stock. Kronenberger criticised Mercedes for developing new products from its luxury S-class range downwards, rather than adopting a more mass-market approach like its Chinese competitors.