BMW overtook us in transition phase: Daimler
TOI caught up with Peter Alexander Trettin, the head of Daimler’s operations in Central & Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, to understand how the company views the Indian luxury car market, and what it plans to do.
By Pankaj Doval, TNN |
The car industry is limping out of a slump and auto makers across the world are hoping that the comeback maintains its momentum. But the slowdown has made one realisation stronger than ever - it is not prudent to focus solely on the developed markets of the West and there is a need to nurture new markets that hold the potential of big volumes in the future. This is amply evident by the recent turf war between Daimler’s Mercedes Benz and BMW. The German auto giants are engaged in a battle for supremacy in India after BMW edged past Mercedes in 2009 to become the country’s biggest premium carmaker.
On a visit to the Mercedes headquarters at Stuttgart, Pankaj Doval caught up with Peter Alexander Trettin, the head of Daimler’s operations in Central & Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, to understand how the company views the Indian luxury car market, and what it plans to do. The company’s seriousness for India was clearly evident when it hoisted a Tricolour at Sindelfingen, its biggest factory that produces cars such as the E- and the S-Class and the very chic gull wing SLS-AMG, during TOI’s visit. Excerpts from the interview:
Worldwide, the market seems to be improving and the forecast is positive. What is the view of Daimler?
The market is looking up, but it will not recover that fast. In the first two months (Jan-Feb 2010), we have had a good start though, and saw 18% growth in cars compared to last year. Overall, we have a positive view for 2010.
You have a fairly long presence in the Indian market. But last year, BMW managed to beat you even though it is relatively a new entrant to India?
I can say that our objective for India is to be the number one premium brand once again. We were not very happy when BMW surpassed us in market share.
What do you think were the reasons? Was it due to the lack of exciting products and not-so-strong dealer network?
We were having a facelift in our volume model E-Class in 2009, so we were vulnerable at that time. On the dealer side, we had to do some adjustments as some of the investments made were not as per our brand philosophy. So it was a kind of a transition phase.
But do you think you were slow in expanding your dealer network that allowed rivals to catch up fast?
Yes, you are right. Probably we lost some momentum in developing the dealer network properly in the previous years. But we have fixed the problem in 2009.
How confident are you about regaining your number one premium carmaker slot, considering that BMW and Audi are expanding aggressively?
They are competition for certain. But our objective is to be number one and we aim for it in the premium segment.
How do you see the Indian market?
India is a huge market and has high potential to grow. And we feel that the premium segment will grow faster than the overall market in terms of percentage.
On a visit to the Mercedes headquarters at Stuttgart, Pankaj Doval caught up with Peter Alexander Trettin, the head of Daimler’s operations in Central & Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, to understand how the company views the Indian luxury car market, and what it plans to do. The company’s seriousness for India was clearly evident when it hoisted a Tricolour at Sindelfingen, its biggest factory that produces cars such as the E- and the S-Class and the very chic gull wing SLS-AMG, during TOI’s visit. Excerpts from the interview:
Worldwide, the market seems to be improving and the forecast is positive. What is the view of Daimler?
The market is looking up, but it will not recover that fast. In the first two months (Jan-Feb 2010), we have had a good start though, and saw 18% growth in cars compared to last year. Overall, we have a positive view for 2010.
You have a fairly long presence in the Indian market. But last year, BMW managed to beat you even though it is relatively a new entrant to India?
I can say that our objective for India is to be the number one premium brand once again. We were not very happy when BMW surpassed us in market share.
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What do you think were the reasons? Was it due to the lack of exciting products and not-so-strong dealer network?
We were having a facelift in our volume model E-Class in 2009, so we were vulnerable at that time. On the dealer side, we had to do some adjustments as some of the investments made were not as per our brand philosophy. So it was a kind of a transition phase.
But do you think you were slow in expanding your dealer network that allowed rivals to catch up fast?
Yes, you are right. Probably we lost some momentum in developing the dealer network properly in the previous years. But we have fixed the problem in 2009.
ADVERTISEMENT
How confident are you about regaining your number one premium carmaker slot, considering that BMW and Audi are expanding aggressively?
They are competition for certain. But our objective is to be number one and we aim for it in the premium segment.
ADVERTISEMENT
How do you see the Indian market?
India is a huge market and has high potential to grow. And we feel that the premium segment will grow faster than the overall market in terms of percentage.
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