Mercedes aims to zip past Audi, BMW by narrowing China gap

Frankfurt

MERCEDES-BENZ, the world's third-largest maker of luxury cars, vowed to narrow the gap with Audi and BMW in China to meet a goal of overtaking the German peers in global sales by the end of the decade. "Our goal to be No 1 in 2020 is valid, and we must reduce the distance to our competitors in China significantly to achieve this target," Hubert Troska, head of Chinese operations for Mercedes parent Daimler AG, told reporters at the carmaker's headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany.

China, the world's largest car market, is set to emerge as the biggest sales region for the new, 200,000 euro (S$326,970) Maybach version of the flagship S-Class sedan that Mercedes unveiled in the country in November. The brand has also rolled out a long-wheelbase version of its C-Class model and started offering a chauffeur service on demand that has proved to be popular with customers, Mr Tro…