No price increase, says Mercedes-Benz

KUALA LUMPUR: Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd’s Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has assured customers that there will be no price increase for all its car models in the short- and medium-term amid currency fluctuations.
“We try to use all financial instruments and measures available in order to compensate and to have a long-term steady pricing strategy,” Mercedes-Benz vice-president of passenger cars Mark Raine told a press conference in conjunction with the announcement of the company’s third-quarter results here yesterday.
Earlier, its peer UMW Toyota Malaysia Sdn Bhd announced that prices of Toyota and Lexus vehicles will be increased by 4% to 16% effective January 2016, due to increased costs arising from the falling ringgit.
Raine said while Mercedes-Benz has been impacted by the volatility of the ringgit, it will maintain prices of its vehicles in the interest of its customers.
“We continuously track and review the development of the exchange rate, we’ve got a whole team of people looking at that. For the short- to medium-term, we do not foresee any price increase. If there are greater fluctuations or (its more) long-term (in nature), that we have to review it obviously,” he added.
Raine noted that Mercedes-Benz has been expanding aggressively into the Malaysian market.
“We’ve got a five-year investment plan where we invest over RM100 million into the Malaysian market and this is a key factor of our recent success,” he said.
Mercedes-Benz saw its sales surge 109% to 3,033 units for the third quarter of 2015, compared with 1,451 units in the previous corresponding period.
Year-to-date, its sales soared 70% from 4,817 units to 8,196 units. With that, 2015 is set to be another record breaking year for Mercedes-Benz as it has surpassed the 6,932 units sold in 2014.
Raine is optimistic that the company can maintain its sales momentum for the fourth quarter and next year due to the attractiveness of its cars.
Meanwhile, he said the company is hoping the government will extend the incentive period for hybrid vehicles, which will expire at the end of this year.
“We’ve applied, we are optimistic it will continue, but at the moment there is no firm indication. We hope the government will grant us the extension for a longer time period,” he said.
On the Volkswagen scandal, Raine believes the incident will not affect market sentiment towards European cars.
“Mercedes-Benz complies with the high standards in terms of emission and quality, that is the pillar of our strategy,” he stressed.
Volkswagen sparked global uproar when it admitted to fitting sophisticated software in its diesel engines to skew emission testing.
Mercedes-Benz Malaysia is a joint venture between Cycle & Carriage Bintang and Daimler AG.