Daimler is selling 25 Mercedes-Benz dealerships across Europe, German media reports. What is the actual reason behind the radical decision?
No less than 25 dealerships are currently for sale across Europe. Daimler is thus hoping to generate up to €1 billion. The German publication Handelsblatt reported that the dealerships are located in the United Kingdom, Spain and Belgium. There are approximately 2,800 people working for the venues. The German journalists claim that the reason behind the decision is the chief executive’s quest to make accelerate the profitability of the brand. Ola Kallenius is thus working on boosting cash reserves and reducing fixed costs.
What will Mercedes-Benz do without dealerships?
The period of pandemic has proven that online services are faster and cheaper. So the brand is targeting to retrofit the interaction of customers from face to face to online.
Another option for the brand across the continent would be externalizing the sales, passing on this responsibility to other dealerships networks.
A Daimler spokesperson confirmed the information for Automotive News Europe. Various retails locations are for sale. The spokesperson highlighted the importance of ensuring the job security of the employees of the Mercedes-Benz dealerships.
According to experts in the industry, Daimler could expect to get an amount between €30 to €40 million for each of the facilities.
The move is only a step of the plans that Daimler announced last fall. Back then the premium car maker announced a strategy that included the cut of 20% from the operating costs by 2025. In order to reach the target, Mercedes-Benz will also reduce the model lineup and increase the investment into the development of electro-mbility. Electric cars and batteries are the stake. This leads to approximately 20,000 jobs also being on the edge.
