Dang Huy Hai, deputy general manager of the New World Saigon Hotel; Stefan Claussen, Director of finance of the hotel; Udo Loersch, general director of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam; Andreas Binder, director of sales & marketing of the automaker, at the handover ceremony yesterday

Udo Loersch says it is a good match, as a five-star hotel should have a fleet of se-dans of the same standard. The general director of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam gives an interesting comparison, saying “being at the backseat of the E-class is as relaxing as being in a five-star hotel room.”

So the fleet handover function at the New World Saigon Hotel yesterday was more of a superior quality show than a commercial deal, when executives from both the automaker and the high-class hotel gathered together to speak of the premium services to be rendered to customers of the hotel. The five-star New World Hotel ordered a fleet of luxury sedans from Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, including four E200K Avantgarde cars of the E-Class category that were handed over yesterday, and one R-Class (R350L) manufactured in Germany, which will be delivered in April.

The deal, worth roughly half a million US dollars, also marks the first complete built-up unit (CBU) sold by Mercedes-Benz Vietnam on the local market, weeks after the automaker obtained approval from local authorities to sell imported cars to Vietnamese customers. So it is all the more significant, says Andreas Binder, director of sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz Vietnam.

Premium quality

“This time is a special occasion as the hotel becomes the first customer of the Mercedes-Benz CBU imported car together with four locally-assembled E-Class units. The whole fleet will now provide premium transportation services to the VIP guests of New World Hotel Saigon,” Udo Loersch remarks.

According to the automaker’s CEO, the New World Saigon Hotel has been among the closest customers of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam over the years, but with the latest deal, the hotel’s services will get one notch higher.

“I believe that with the new Mercedes-Benz sedans, the hotel can add one more star to its already-excellent services,” he says.

E-Class is currently the most luxurious business saloon made in Vietnam. Target customers of the E-Class varies fromcompanies, diplomatic organizations and five-star hotels to elite individuals or successful business people, or whoever loves the brand and wants to experience all premium values in an uniquely different way.

A special feature in the E-Class is that the model especially emphasizes on superlative comfort of passengers at back seats. It is equipped with such prominent features as communication system, helping passengers “control the entire world from the back seats” via simple buttons, the leading safety system Pre-Safe, or the four-zone automatic climate control Thermotronic, allowing four people on the car to control the climate of their own zones, which brings along a carefree and comfortable atmosphere, like staying in a luxurious room of a 5-star hotel, according to the automaker.

The imported R-Class series, meanwhile, is a deluxe car for long touring trips for high-class guests. This cross-over six-seat model is perfect for both city tours and long-distance trips for a bigger group of guests. The long wheel base provides the most spacious environment for passengers, while the convenient Direct Select shift lever, innovative 7G-TRONIC auto transmission, and Audio 20 CD radio entertainment system with eight loudspeakers make an ideal environment for the best journeys. With this R-Class, the New World Hotel Saigon is the first customer of official imported CBU cars by Mercedes-Benz Vietnam.

Says Stefan Claussen, director of finance of New World Hotel Saigon: “We are delighted to buy these Mercedes-Benz vehicles for transportation of our VIP guests. They are in addition to an already existing fleet of nine cars and vans by Mercedes which firmly demonstrates our commitment to first-class products and our shared vision to satisfy our customers beyond their expectations.”

Signals for expanded business

General director Udo Loersch says this latest deal together with the strong development on the Vietnamese market are signals for the automaker to expand its business, including a boost in output of locally-assembled vehicles and the distribution of CBU ones.

“We plan to invest US$20 million in Vietnam over three years besides importing CBU cars to offer the whole model range of Mercedes-Benz to our customers,” says the CEO of the automaker, which is a US$70-million joint venture between Saigon Automobile Machinery Company and Daimler-Benz Vietnam Investment Singapore.

The company, with a factory in HCMC’s Go Vap District with an annual capacity of 4,000 vehicles, now manufactures passenger cars such as E-Class (E200K Avantgarde and E280 Elegance) and C-Class (C200K Elegance, C200K Avantgarde and C230 Avantgarde) besides commercial vehicles such as Sprinter 16-seat minibuses (Standard 311 CDI and Special 313 CDI).

Udo Loersch says the company has invested US$3 million for a new assembly line of the new C-Class at the factory. “This year and next year, we will continue to install two new assembly lines for the factory to assemble new cars that are more sought after on the market,” he explains.

Regarding the distribution of imported cars, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam last month officially received the license to import Mercedes-Benz CBU, and the company in the first phase will import from Germany four-seat, six-seat and seven-seat passenger vehicles. It will also import two-door sport cars, ranging from saloons, coupes, SUV and Off-roaders in accordance with demands of customers. CKD production, however, remains the company’s key business.

“From now on, customers can buy Mercedes-Benz CBU imports from official source and have peace of mind regarding the car’s history. At the same time, the availability of after-sales services and of spare parts provided by Mercedes-Benz Autohaus dealer system nationwide will shoot all troubles that current CBU- import buyers may enter,” Udo Loersch says.

Prices of Mercedes-Benz CBU are expected to be announced soon and will be very competitive in the luxury imported auto segment, since the company can take advantages from 13-year success in its sales and after-sales system in Vietnam, Loersch says.

Mercedes-Benz Vietnam ended the year 2007 with total sales reaching up to 2,278 vehicles, a 90% increase compared to last year. In January 2008, MBV continued to achieve total sales of 276 units, accounting for a year-on-year growth up to 176%. The company has plans to sell 3,000 cars this year including import cars.

Of the automaker’s expansion scheme, big customers like hotels and resorts will play an important part, according to the company’s executives.

“Mercedes-Benz E-class so far has overwhelmingly been preferred by 5-star hotels all over Vietnam… This year we will further strengthen the existing co-operation projects with luxury hotels and resorts in Vietnam,” says sales and marketing director Andreas Binder. (By Quoc Hung in HCMC - The SGT Daily - No. 3136 - February 28, 2008)