Hot! Mercedes-Benz, What's Next?

[Rolf]

India is a big market as well and yet I didn't see Mercedes giving India the same level of attention that they favoured China. Anyway, all those years of poor reliability, arrogant customer (lack) of car and caving in to European Union unrealistic emissions standard will eventually bite Mercedes in the ass. And deservedly so.

I think it's the same for all the European car makers, the change over to EVs are coming quicker than they had planned. They were resting on their laurels and hedging on their ICE lineup to make the profits, but they didn't study the Chinese market properly, which is 35% of the worlds car market and thus will lose more market share. The EQE is a sales disaster in China and no cars were sold in October and just a handful in November. Mercedes will probably have to either bring out a major revamped EQE soon or close down the assembly line and drop the model from their line up.

 

[Serpens]

Even Porsche is suffering in China.

India is a big market as well and yet I didn't see Mercedes giving India the same level of attention that they favoured China. Anyway, all those years of poor reliability, arrogant customer (lack) of car and caving in to European Union unrealistic emissions standard will eventually bite Mercedes in the ass. And deservedly so.

India's luxury market isn't anywhere near as big as China's. China's economy is slowing down nowadays but the lux market had been rapidly expanding the last 15 years or so.

 

[Design FIRST]

Ficken deutschen Idioten!

More diplomatic would be...maybe..."haughtily myopic". Quite a dominant characteristic, especially over the course of the past 15 some years.

It looks like Mercedes-Benz is on the same path as VW with cost cutting. It will be planning to fire 16600 staff (or 10% of the work force) in the next 2 years. Who is next BMW? Audi has also closed one factory and about 3000 staff are fired.

This is very bad news for the German auto industry. The legacy car makers are in serious trouble and probably we could see hundreds of thousand of job cuts in the next 2 to 3 years from all including GM, Ford, Stellantis, Japanese and Korean brands etc.

Also to be taken into consideration that manpower requirements in the production as well as R&D and marketing process will be progressively reduced as innovation thrusts forwards at an increasingly rapid pace. And especially the German manufacturers are carrying the burden of seriously bloated mid-tier managment staff.

 

[J.E]

More diplomatic would be...maybe..."haughtily myopic". Quite a dominant characteristic, especially over the course of the past 15 some years.

What? You think Joe Biden doesn't think Olaf Scholz is a "stupid son of a bitch"?

Come on man... Diplomacy is theatrics. It's acting. It's fake. Ultimate form of phoniness.

I bet dear old Joe reckons that Volodymyr Zelensky is a "greedy annoying little c#nt" and I bet he wish Old Vlad would just whack the guy onde and for all. A couple of years ago he even told Zelensky "to show some gratitude".

If Joe Biden were a Bond villain he would've electrocuted Tim Walz and fed Kamala Harris to hungry piranhas for their failure. Just like Blofeld would do.

 

[Design FIRST]

What? You think Joe Biden doesn't think Olaf Scholz is a "stupid son of a bitch"?

Actually, I'm not sure that ANYONE thinks ANYTHING about Olaf Scholz. Other than Olaf Scholz himself. Here in my country, as well as Olafs, it is commonly quipped that Olaf Scholz "has the charisma of a potato.". Anyhow, much indicates that he'll be gone and soon forgotten as of February 24th. But then again, this is Germany, after all. All sorts of crazy stuff could happen.

What was that quote from Albert Einstein about the Universe and the German electorate ?

 

[J.E]

Actually, I'm not sure that ANYONE thinks ANYTHING about Olaf Scholz. Other than Olaf Scholz himself. Here in my country, as well as Olafs, it is commonly quipped that Olaf Scholz "has the charisma of a potato.". Anyhow, much indicates that he'll be gone and soon forgotten as of February 24th. But then again, this is Germany, after all. All sorts of crazy stuff could happen.

What was that quote from Albert Einstein about the Universe and the German electorate ?

That's an offense to potatoes. Potatoes are useful and delicious.

 

[Gianclaudio]

Beginning to wonder if it's a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, or substance's abuse.
Or a combination of both.

 

[GTA45E]

What makes you think they haven’t? Toyota and Lexus’ method to make cars reliable isn’t unknown in the auto industry. It comes with tradeoffs other companies like Mercedes just aren’t interested in. Mercedes clearly prioritizes other things that their customers care about, namely cutting edge technology.

True, It is hard to find the formula for why Toyota makes engines, in particular last so long.
I did a little digging and found some Toyota pick-up trucks with V8 engines with over a million miles on them.
The mechanics in some YouTube videos mentioned that some of these V8s use oil jets that spray oil on the underside of the pistons to reduce heat and friction, which is one of the reasons these engines last. The mechanics mentioned that Toyota will stick to a reliable formula, even if it is older technology, particularly for the work fleet of vehicles. No one here gives a damn about pick-up trucks but the Toyota Tundra is one of the most reliable engine-wise. The oil jets might play a role in some of them lasting well past 200,000miles depending on the care of the owner.

Just out of curiosity, I searched for the M177 AMG V8 to see if it is using these oil jets.

Also BMW V8s

 

[J.E]

Beginning to wonder if it's a serious mental illness like schizophrenia, or substance's abuse.
Or a combination of both.

It's ironic to read that from a Bolivian guy. I bet your German buddies make a lot jokes about your country and its finest export. That "magic white powder". You know, the one that a lot of your fellow countrymen snort a lot and all your German buddies ask you if you got some.

 

[Gianclaudio]

It's ironic to read that from a Bolivian guy. I bet your German buddies make a lot jokes about your country and its finest export. That "magic white powder". You know, the one that a lot of your fellow countrymen snort a lot and all your German buddies ask you if you got some.

Do you think I'll get offended on your lame attempt at nationality bigotry, from a guy who used to have a fake persona on this forum? Mr Kowalski from London
That's how full of insecurities, inferiority and complex you are.

Ah, and Bolivia's biggest market for "magic white powder" is Brazil, go figure.

 

[Pagani]

This thread has become a pile of useless, non-subject-related comments lately and I for one am really annoyed I get sucked from the notifications thinking that there is anything new worth reading.

 

[Giannis]

Indeed. Com' on guys, you can do better than that.

 

[Merc1]

You still get notifications???

M

 

[Design FIRST]

Electric Viking has an incredibly punchable face. Except of course, I'd ram my knee into his , which sadly would be an useless effort as he clearly looks like the sort of man who had a vasectomy. Besides, he's a shill for Elon Musk. Anything God almighty Elon lies about, the Electric Viking will defecate through his mouth and post it on YouTube.

But, yeah, German auto industry is doomed and they only have themselves to blame. All those years of people telling them to build car as reliable as Lexus and yet they chose to invest in cute advertising and betting everything on (in?) China. Serves them right! Ficken deutschen Idioten! What the f#ck were they thinking by betting all the chips in a f#cking communist country and kissing the European Union's ass?!

MORONS!

No wonder they lost two World Wars and are not allowed to have Nuclear Weapons.

Even a puffy country like France has a nuclear arsenal.

I once found the Electric Viking videos quite informative as well as entertaining. That, however, has changed over the course of the past several months. His "reporting" smacks of doomsday agendas (and yes, he remains to express some very valid concerns regarding especially the German automotive industry that currently finds itself in seriously dire straits). But there is an element of exagerated theatrics that I now find a bit annoying. This is fine on car forums such as this one where folks just satisfy the occassional urge to vent. On a widely read digitial socalled "authoritative automotive news" platform, not so much. He pounces on sensationalistic headlines without delving a bit deeper under the surface. Then again, that's the internet for you.

 

[AbsoluteUnit]

I once found the Electric Viking videos quite informative as well as entertaining. That, however, has changed over the course of the past several months. His "reporting" smacks of doomsday agendas (and yes, he remains to express some very valid concerns regarding especially the German automotive industry that currently finds itself in seriously dire straits). But there is an element of exagerated theatrics that I now find a bit annoying. This is fine on car forums such as this one where folks just satisfy the occassional urge to vent. On a widely read digitial socalled "authoritative automotive news" platform, not so much. He pounces on sensationalistic headlines without delving a bit deeper under the surface. Then again, that's the internet for you.

It's made all the funnier because it's not just German automotive companies that are struggling. Find me a car company that is doing extremely well.
Current economics makes expensive, depreciating asset purchases (i.e cars) unviable to average people.

 

[Design FIRST]

Current economics makes expensive, depreciating asset purchases (i.e cars) unviable to average people.

Absolutely true. I'm nursing a now 10 year old vehicle from one mandatory bi-annual inspection to another, hoping that nothing major breaks. The next one is scheduled for just after the holidays. I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed and knocking on wood that it will pass without complaint. I just recently forked out approx. 450 Euros for a new set of all-season tires. I am a bit concerned regarding the front suspension bushings, though. They get brittle after a while.

 

[J.E]

Absolutely true. I'm nursing a now 10 year old vehicle from one mandatory bi-annual inspection to another, hoping that nothing major breaks. The next one is scheduled for just after the holidays. I'm keeping fingers and toes crossed and knocking on wood that it will pass without complaint. I just recently forked out approx. 450 Euros for a new set of all-season tires. I am a bit concerned regarding the front suspension bushings, though. They get brittle after a while.

Don't mean to sound like one of these conspiracy theorist nutters, but looks like Europe is heading towards to a Cubanization of cars.

New cars will be sold by government owned dealerships under finance schemes up to 120 months.

Any pre-Euro VI Emission Standards car will be banned.

The only "affordable" cars that are going to be possible to be purchased freely without government permission will be used DPF and OPF equipped Euro VI emission standards vehicles.

What about Hybrids and EVs? EVs are pretty much disposable cars. The Nissan Leaf must be piling up at the scrap yards at a higher and faster rate than any Fiat And I don't think nobody will want an used hybrid, whose battery pack is a ticking time bomb worse than a BMW N63 engine.

 

[Design FIRST]

Don't mean to sound like one of these conspiracy theorist nutters, but looks like Europe is heading towards to a Cubanization of cars.

New cars will be sold by government owned dealerships under finance schemes up to 120 months.

Any pre-Euro VI Emission Standards car will be banned.

What can be noted is that "modern" urbanites are increasingly shunning the concept of owning a vehicle. The convenience of short-term rental is becoming more appealing and in "functional" metropolitan areas, public transport simply appears a more viable alternative for many.

Personally, living in a rural area continues to make vehicle ownership a necessity for me. The public transport system is insufficient. However, were I to live in an urban environment with a well-functioning infrastructure, I'm quite sure that I would no longer own an automobile. I love cars, but I no longer find actual ownership important-or even desirable-in certain environments.

 

[Rolf]

I have been without a car for nearly a month now and surprisingly I am not missing the driving around the city in Saudi. I am staying close to a mall so it's easy for me just to walk there and any place I need to go in a 30km radius is easily accessible with a Uber taxi. I have been using the Sharing system which saves alot on taxi rides and means it's very affordable and you don't have the headaches of driving in traffic, just sit and relax in the back seat. I must say that Uber has created alot of work here for jobless people who have cars.

 

[Rolf]

The most moral thing to do but the management should also not take any bonuses.

Mercedes cancels salary increases for executives

Some measures of Mercedes' austerity package are now known
Mercedes wants to save around EUR 5 billion in fixed and variable costs by 2027. Half of that (EUR 2.5 billion by the end of 2025). How exactly this will be done is not yet clear. However, CFO Harald Wilhelm said that they want to leave no stone unturned.

This concept is probably also there to appease the supervisory board, because if you build fewer cars, you at least save variable costs. Only then do you not need to build any more cars at all, and that is when you save the most costs.

As a premium manufacturer, you have to offer high quality and value first and foremost. Does it therefore make sense to save on components? In the current situation, squeezing suppliers leads to them getting into financial difficulties and so that production does not come to a standstill at the OEM, they are then supported again with financial injections from the OEMs.

However, there is a clear trend that they want to buy more parts in China here and there. The M252 4-cylinder hybrid engine (developed in Stuttgart Untertürkheim) is being industrialized and built in China by Aurobay (a Geely subsidiary). When it comes to autonomous driving (Level 2+), Mercedes no longer wants to rely on a local supplier, Momenta (an AI start-up from China), just for the Chinese market, but also wants to use the technology on the global market.

new M252 Hybrid for the MMA family

The Corona crisis with cut and blocked supply chains is not long ago. Actually, people wanted to source more locally again.
What is important is that Mercedes wants to become a leaner company. But they are sticking to the ZuSi 2030 plan. This means that no plants will be closed. Ola Källenius wants to make the adjustments through normal fluctuation and demographics.
It has now also been announced that savings will be made for managers in 2025. They will not receive a pay rise (but bonuses and premiums will be paid). This affects the E4 (team leader) to E1 (center manager) levels. This affects a four-digit number of people.
In addition, all managers will again be required to be present from January 2025. Home office for managers will then no longer be possible.
Furthermore, it can be assumed that the plant - where the current GLB is currently built (jointly with Nissan) - will be closed after the current GLB generation X247 is discontinued. The plant should only have a memorial value of 1 euro in the books. This is because Ola Källenius had already written it off when he took over the CEO position ( EUR 684 million special depreciation including the Hambach plant in Q2 2020).

Mercedes streicht Gehaltserhöhungen für Führungskräfte

Einige Maßnahmen des Sparpakets von Mercedes sind nun bekannt - Führungskräfte erhalten 2025 keine Gehaltserhöhung

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