Speaking at a meeting of the automaker's national dealers earlier this month, company executives said they hope to sell about 350,000 vehicles in the US next year. This would roughly equate to the 357,729 vehicles the company sold locally in 2019, the final year before the coronavirus pandemic that rocked the industry and impacted sales.
A dealer who attended the event told Auto News that Mercedes US marketing chief Drew Slaven said the automaker's national advertising over the next two years will focus "almost exclusively" on electric vehicles and technology.
More than 300 of the company's 383 dealerships across the US have invested in EV charging infrastructure and equipment to enable the sale and service of EVs.
In the US market, an attack on electric vehicles is planned. Mercedes will introduce the EQB, EQE and EQS SUV models this year. In 2023, the EQE SUV will appear on the market. The EQ models will also be the cornerstone of the automaker's new marketing move.
While some companies are launching and selling new electric vehicles under direct sales models, Mercedes-Benz USA chief executive Dimitris Psillakis confirmed that the automaker will not pursue such a strategy in the US. And this despite the fact that in Germany and Europe he adheres to the direct sales model.
"In the US market, we don't over-sell," Psillakis said. "We are well structured in terms of network size and location (of stores). So we don't have any blind spots at the moment."
Psyllakis acknowledged that there could be some dealer mergers and acquisitions in the chain, noting that some large dealer groups could buy out smaller independent stores.