After getting rid of Chrysler a few years ago, Mercedes Benz now has to work at how to move cars in the US without the help of a US brand. Mercedes Benz has less of an upscale reputation in Europe than it has in the US; thus, it often makes more down-market cars for the European market and has started selling some mainstream versions of their B class cars in Canada.
One of the models it is focus-group testing in the US is a five-door hatchback model similar to their Euro-Canadian offerings. According to AutoSpies.com, the focus groups didn’t like it since it didn’t “reflect the company’s luxury positioning.”
One possibility that Daimler-Benz might consider is to have a second brand to carry its more economical cars in North America, so that they can have car haulers drop the Mercedes-built car off at the dealership, but sell it under a different banner. For example, Toyota has the Lexus brand of luxury cars that are Toyota-built but are pitched to an upscale market; when Lexus cars with problematic Toyota parts were recalled earlier this year, Lexus didn’t get as hammered by recallitis as much as Toyota did.
A separate Daimler line of mid-range cars might be a solution to the positioning issue. Some new name might be used, but I’d recommend using Daimler; since US car folks remember the Daimler-Chrysler name, you’d have some recognition without it trashing the Mercedes name. More dealers mean more deliveries, so car transporters would be happy if Daimler did go downscale.
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