Mercedes-Benz confident of sustaining momentum

The superbly designed Mercedes-Maybach S 600 was recently launched as an exclusive option for the elite of modern China. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Mercedes-Benz has pledged to lift customer experience in the China market by laying a trustworthy foundation with its dealer partners and unveiling more models to sustain its already strong momentum in 2015.

Nicholas Speeks, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service, said at a year-end roundtable over the weekend that the German automaker has established a sales target for this year of more than 300,000 units.

"Our sales target in 2015 is ambitious... and next year we want to be well above 300,000 units," he said.

The year 2014 was one of strong growth for Mercedes-Benz.

The Stuttgart-based company delivered an outstanding sales achievement in the Chinese market with an increase of 28 percent year-on-year, overtaking Audi's 17.7 percent and BMW's 16 percent.

With such rapid growth, December also marked the 22nd month of consecutive sales growth since BMBS was established in March 2013.

Despite that growth, the automaker still lags behind its competition in total sales, an issue it plans to address in 2015.

To realize this target, Speeks identified three main pillars for growth, with customer experience the company's first priority.

"The customer experience, and improving customer satisfaction, remains our number one strategic priority," he said.

"We have worked hard across a range of areas, especially after-sales, taking two significant steps to bring our customers more value, and help them better save the money they've worked so very hard to earn."

The brand's focus is always customer, customer, and customer, he said.

"If you want happy customers, you had better make sure your dealers are happy, too," Speeks said. "We made great strides in this regard, and this remains our biggest achievement in 2014."