Mercedes-Benz Beefing Up Thriving Korean Operations

Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis announces his company will invest 200 billion won ($169 million) to expand sales and service centers in Korea this year and create 1,000 new jobs.

Speaking this week in Seoul, Psillakis says the investment will cover construction of eight new sales outlets and seven new service centers, bringing the totals to 50 and 55, respectively.

After joining the South Korean unit as CEO in October 2015, Psillakis led it through its best-ever sales year. In 2016 Mercedes-Benz broke the import-car sales barrier of 50,000 units, wresting first place from BMW Korea.

Mercedes-Benz sold 56,343 new cars in 2016, up 20% year-over-year, while BMW finished No.2 with 48,459 deliveries, up 1.2%.

Psillakis attributes the big sales gains not so much to successful selling methods but to greatly improved aftersales service.

He notes the automaker this year will launch a digital sales platform that will enable customers to contact and make appointments for sales or service, then track the transactions’ progress by their smartphones or tablets.

Besides selling the largest number of imported vehicles in Korea in 2016, Mercedes-Benz also achieved the industry’s highest customer-satisfaction ratings, Psillakis says.

He is targeting 60,000 sales in 2017.

Psillakis predicts the added sales and service outlets will enhance customer satisfaction and be a major factor in achieving the sales goals. New product also will play an important role, as the company will add six new models to its lineup of 48 upgraded versions of existing models.

The new offerings will include a new GLA compact CUV and the new ʼ17 GLC Coupe SUV, which makes its South Korean launch in March.

Mercedes-Benz Korea also will launch three new entries from the automaker’s AMG high-performance portfolio.

Earlier this month the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Assn. reported 2016 imported light-vehicle sales of 225,279 units, down 7.6% year-on-year. It was the first drop in cumulative annual sales since 2009.

Dragging down the totals were Volkswagen Korea, which saw deliveries plunge 63.2% to just 13,178 units, and Audi Korea, which was down 48% at 16,718 units sold. Both VW and its luxury division had been severely impacted by government sales restrictions following disclosure of their role in the 2015 emissions-rigging scandal.

Of the imported vehicles sold in Korea last year, Mercedes-Benz accounted for 25% of the import market. BMW took a 21.5% share, followed by Audi (7.4%) and VW (6%).

Korea is Mercedes-Benz’s third-largest overseas market behind China and the U.S.