Mercedes-Benz to Launch Fleet of Eco Cars in Korea
19 January, 2019
Mercedes-Benz will release a range of new eco cars in the Korean market this year, Dimitris Psillakis, the German carmaker's Korea chief, said Thursday.
Mercedes-Benz had a bumper year in Korea by selling over 70,000 cars last year, partly thanks to troubles bedeviling its competition.
Psillakis told reporters that the carmaker will release 14 new models here this year, including the EQC, its first purely electric car, and four plug-in hybrid models. Another six models will be launched in partially face-lifted versions. Last year, Mercedes-Benz launched nine new models here.
Psillakis, who is Greek, made his entrance at Thursday's press event in shiny Korean traditional costume against a backdrop of the Korean national flag. He came to Korea in September 2015 and has been keen to explore the country, taking a cycling tour from Incheon to Busan with his wife in 2017.
"We received a lot of support in Korea last year, and we will pay it back with products and service that offer the best customer experience," he said.
Dimitris Psillakis, Mercedes-Benz's Korea chief, speaks at a press event in Seoul on Thursday. /Newsis
Mercedes-Benz was the bestselling imported brand in Korea last year for the third year running with a record 70,798 cars sold. That levered Korea up one notch to become the firm's fifth largest market for passenger cars after China, the U.S., Germany and the U.K.
The country was also the second biggest market after China for the automaker's upscale E-Class sedans with 35,534 sold, up 8.8 percent from the previous year.
But now the focus is on eco cars. It sold 2,865 of the new GLC 350e 4Matic, the first green car Mercedes-Benz has released in Korea, and that is considered a success in the segment.
Psillakis said he will focus on qualitative growth like customer satisfaction and improved service. The firm will increase the number of service centers from current 64 to 70, which is already the largest number among foreign brands here, and expand personnel so that the time a regular checkup takes will halve to 30 minutes.