Daimler AG’s Zetsche has big plans for Mercedes, Smart and Maybach

Mercedes-Benz has perhaps one of the most prominent histories in the automobile industry. However, in the late 1990s and all the way through the 2000 until now, Mercedes has fallen well below their expectations as a brand. The top brass has since been hard at work to reinvigorate their image and damaged reputation with some efforts paying off. Mercedes-Benz’s CEO, Dieter Zetsche, however isn’t satisfied and wants to make the 2010s a “Mercedes decade.”

“The first decade following the 125th birthday of the automobile will bring many changes to our industry. We are very well prepared — and we look forward to working with you to make the next decade a ‘Mercedes decade’,” Zetsche said in a press conference.

Zetsche claimed that Daimler is working around the clock to make sure that all of their brands—Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach—are ready for the projected market trends up to 2020. However, specific details were kept close.

“The planning outlook is not the next quarter, but rather the next decade. Experts all agree that by 2020, demand for cars will grow faster than the overall global economy,” Zetsche continued. “At the same time we will grow at the upper end of the model spectrum with, for example, additional variants of the next S class, another attractive SUV, as well as with models such as the CLS Shooting Brake.”

Overall, Zetsche was saying that he’s planning big for the Daimler conglomerate and wants to reach up to 1.5 million unit sales for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars as early s 2014.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: Automotive news