German Car Forum

I know, we're a little late bringing you this story, and for this I apologize. We're currently in the process of relocating the eMercedesBenz offices from the always-sunny state of Florida to the far more frigid Midwest, so our news has been a little sporadic as of late. We're hoping to complete the move and have operations back to normal by next week, so in the meantime, we'll do our best to get out as many stories as possible.

But enough about us – let's talk about Mercedes-Benz USA for a moment. You might think that with a struggling economy and a 34 percent decrease in Mercedes-Benz sales last month MBUSA may be hesitant to dip into the financial reserves. Not so, ladies and gentlemen, as the company has announced they'll be investing more than $30 million in a new 330,000+ sq. ft. company-owned flagship dealership in Manhattan. The new facility, located on 11th Avenue between 53rd and 54th Street, will replace the existing facility on 41st Street, and is expected to be operational by 2011.

According to MBUSA President and CEO Ernst Lieb: "We know that, more than ever before, customers are placing a very high priority on their experience with their dealership over the entire ownership period. With this in mind, we are working with our dealer partners, who together are investing over a billion dollars, to achieve unparalleled levels of consistency across the network through what we call our Autohaus project. This involves both brand elements as well as architectural designs that are oriented around creating more transparency, comfort and convenience for the customer. Consistent with this, we are creating an all-new MB Manhattan dealership to shine as the jewel in the crown of the network."

To learn more about the new Mercedes-Benz USA Manhattan dealership, keep reading for the official press release....


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

Mercedes-Benz USA Invests In New Flagship Dealer In NYC

MONTVALE, NJ –Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) announced today that it will invest over $30 million in a new and larger company-owned flagship dealership in Manhattan to expand its customer care capability and improve efficiency. The new 53rd Street facility, which replaces an existing facility on 41st Street, is expected to be operational by 2011 and will be one of the largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the country.

“We know that, more than ever before, customers are placing a very high priority on their experience with their dealership over the entire ownership period,” said MBUSA President and CEO Ernst Lieb. “With this in mind, we are working with our dealer partners, who together are investing over a billion dollars, to achieve unparalleled levels of consistency across the network through what we call our Autohaus project. This involves both brand elements as well as architectural designs that are oriented around creating more transparency, comfort and convenience for the customer. Consistent with this, we are creating an all-new MB Manhattan dealership to shine as the jewel in the crown of the network.”

The new 330,000+ sq. ft. facility, located on 11th Avenue between 53rd Street and 54th Streets is currently under construction by Two Trees Management of Brooklyn, N.Y. MB Manhattan’s existing location at the entrance of the Lincoln Tunnel on 41st Street on 11th Avenue will continue to service New York area customers until the new facility opens in 2011.
The new MB Manhattan dealership will offer leading showroom technology and forward-thinking design in a fully-fledged dealership for the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and smart brands with sales of new and pre-owned vehicles and after-sales operations, including a state-of-the-art service center.

“As our market share increases, and the Mercedes-Benz brand continues to grow in popularity, we see this as a way to raise the bar in our Manhattan sales and service operations with a view to continuously exceed the expectations of our customers,” said Blair Creed, general manager of MB Manhattan. “In New York City, people can find the best of the best the world has to offer. Our discerning customer base will find the new MB Manhattan location more convenient and user-focused as we accelerate to the future.”

MB Manhattan began operating as a company retail store in 1965, a year in which 12,117 Mercedes-Benz cars where sold in the U.S. In the 26 years since MB Manhattan became a subsidiary of Mercedes-Benz USA in 1981, sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the U.S. have quadrupled from 63,059 units to last year’s 253,433 units. The dealership is the fifth largest in the country for new vehicle sales, MB Manhattan’s historical sales showroom at 430 Park Avenue will remain unchanged in design and operations.
Originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for the legendary foreign car importer Max Hoffman, the Park Avenue showroom has been one of Mercedes-Benz’s premier showrooms since 1955 and was expanded and completely renovated in 2002.


Source: Mercedes-Benz USA To Invest More Than $30 Million In New Flagship Dealer In Manhattan | eMercedesBenz - The Unofficial Mercedes-Benz Weblog

Well i guess this is a proof of the fact that MB arent scared

Oh yes, they know the market will come back...around spring 2010 IMO.


M

Great.

These ultra large dealerships impress people because they will associate the brand often with positive attributes such as power, prestige and greatness. At least that seems to be the case here in Germany with those big dealers Mercedes has in Stuttgart, Berlin and of course Munich (see my pictures).

Show off

Sounds like a great idea The current 'main' dealership is behind the Port Authority in an area most people wouldn't want to walk, let alone live. Kind of industrial and downtrodden.

They should have kept the new one on Park Avenue, though. More centralized and high-class/upper end. Not to mention the Ferrari dealership was right across the street

Manhattan is just one of the classiest areas u can live inside the US,and having that mega showroom is nothing but prestige and class which is what MB all about

Wow, I can't believe this. I go to the on Mercedes Manhattan all the time. I'm really gonna miss the old one, I pretty much grew up going to that dealer all the time (no joke). It was like a second home to me. Farwell, in 2010.

The good thing with MB is that 99% of their dealers are awesome! I don't talk about the central ones, but about the small local ones! This is not the same with BMW though. Our (small) dealer sucks in every possible way, and i have seen more local dealers that are below averege in my opinion

Recession = Possibilities

Property prices are down which allow Mercedes to get a 25 years lease contract with at a 10-20% lower rate then they would have been able to get one year ago when the property prices were at their peak.

As you can see in the article the opening of the store is 1.5-2 years away which gives the market plenty of time to begin recovery. MB are just giving themselves a head start here.

There will be a rush on cars in year or so I bet. Once everything levels out and everyone who is going to lose their shirt goes ahead and loses it, everything will be reset and start to progress again.

M