Mercedes-Benz expresses confidence in Chinese business at CDF

Mercedes-Benz is confident in China's economic prospects and will deepen its commitment to the world's largest vehicle market, said the German premium car group's top executive on Sunday.

"I'm confident China will embark on a path of steady recovery and development in 2023, and continue to strengthen its position as an innovation hub for the global auto industry," said Ola Kaellenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG.

He made the remark during the annual China Development Forum held in Beijing from March 25 to 27.

20 years of deepening local cooperation

Mercedes-Benz started its journey of cooperation with local partners in 2003, when it established a long-term strategic partnership with China's BAIC Group.

Over the past two decades, the carmaker has established extensive partnerships with local carmakers, technology companies, startups and renowned universities.

The continued efforts to deepen localization have become a key pillar of its long-term success in the Chinese market, said the carmaker.

"Mercedes-Benz will work with our local partners to continuously increase investment in China, expand our R&D and industrial chain footprint, and accelerate the innovative transformation towards electrification, digitalization and carbon neutrality," said Hubertus Troska, member of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, responsible for Greater China.

Continuously enhancing China footprint

Last year, the car group delivered more than 751,000 vehicles in the country, accounting for 37 percent of its global deliveries.

Its business in China covers the entire industry chain, from R&D, procurement, production and sales to after-sales, as well as vehicle-related financial service.

Its joint venture Beijing Benz Automotive Company has become the largest production base in its global production network, with the 5 millionth car expected to roll off its assembly line this year.

China is also important for Mercedes-Benz's R&D with the most comprehensive R&D network outside of Germany.

"China is not only one of our most important markets and a crucial technology hub. Above all, China is also a trailblazer for technological innovations and future trends. So we are investing massively into technology and growing our R&D footprint in China," said Kaellenius.

The carmaker has opened two state-of-the-art R&D centers of global scale — one in Beijing and one in Shanghai. The latter one focuses on vehicle software and digitalization.

"These two facilities have not only improved our global network. More importantly, they've enabled us to rapidly develop the latest technological innovations tailored to the needs of the Chinese market and our esteemed customers," he said.

While strengthening in-house R&D capabilities, Mercedes-Benz has also established extensive cooperation with Chinese leading technology companies.

For example, the automaker has partnered with Tencent in cloud computing to support its development of automated driving systems for tech-savvy customers in China.

Dedicated to carbon neutrality

"We have made the commitment to full decarbonization in the whole value chain by 2039. I can see our sustainable momentum is building up. And the best is yet to come," Kaellenius pointed out.

Globally, Mercedes-Benz is committed to making its fleet of new passenger cars net carbon-neutral over the vehicles' entire life cycle by 2039.

This ambition resonates well with China's goals to peak carbon emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

The joint venture BBAC is scheduling to increase the proportion of photovoltaic electricity to 20 percent of total energy usage in production by 2025.

As the world's largest and most dynamic market for NEVs, China plays a key role in Mercedes-Benz's electrification strategy, in the view of the carmaker. The company is accelerating its electrification transformation to get ready to go all electric by the end of the decade, wherever market conditions allow.

It already has a wide range of NEV products in the Chinese market. In 2022, their sales increased by more than 140 percent over the previous year. Mercedes-Benz is introducing six all-new electric models and plug-in hybrids to Chinese customers this year, including the all-new EQS SUV and the locally-built EQE SUV.

By the end of 2023, Mercedes-Benz will build a line-up of 17 NEV models, covering a wide range of segments and meeting the mobility needs of different customers.

Since 2007, Mercedes-Benz has been involved in corporate social responsibility initiatives across the country. Its initiatives cover environmental protection, driving culture, education support, culture and arts, and social care.

By the end of 2022, Mercedes-Benz and its dealer partners have donated more than 320 million yuan ($46.6 million) through its corporate social responsibility fund, the Mercedes-Benz Star Fund.

The carmaker said there are more green initiatives to follow, and it will continue working with partners to contribute to the sustainable development of China.

"Our ultimate aim is to delight Chinese customers with innovative product and services and continue to contribute to China's high quality development and auto industry upgrading," said Troska.

lifusheng@chinadaily.com.cn