Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd. President and CEO Thomas Klein speaks with South Korean reporters at the carmaker’s office in Seoul on June 16, 2023, in this photo provided by the company.
SEOUL, June 21 (Korea Bizwire) — The head of Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd. has said a predictable business environment is the “one thing” he has wanted the most from the South Korean government during his 2 1/2-year term that ends in September.
Over the past few years, the regulatory landscape in South Korea has actually developed positively.
Europeans and German companies have especially benefited from the European-Korean free trade agreement, Mercedes-Benz Korea President and Chief Executive Thomas Klein said in a recent interview with Korean reporters.
The CEO spoke extremely positively about the Korean government’s efforts to propel electric vehicle (EV) sales, adding that its program to bolster the adaptation of electric mobility in the country is one of the most comprehensive he has ever seen.
The program ranges from providing parking subsidies and electric energy subsidies to registration subsidies and direct grants.
“If there was one thing in hindsight, I wish that would be done in a little more considerable way, I would say is timely and more long-term implementation of new regulations,” Klein said.
“It would make our lives a lot easier if these regulations would come out more precisely (and) wouldn’t change every year.”
This file photo offered by Mercedes-Benz Korea Ltd. shows the new E-Class sedan.
One example is EV subsidies. It is very difficult for vehicle manufacturers to deal with changing EV subsidy regulations every year, and many countries change the regulations at two- or three-year intervals, the German native said.
In the same regard, if the Seoul government wants to introduce a regulation for the year 2023, it needs to do it at the end of 2022, and not wait until Jan. 23, the CEO said.
“So, what you’ve seen this year, no Korean consumer went and bought an electric vehicle in the first four weeks of the year, because the regulation for this very same year hadn’t been released yet, and I think there is some opportunity to maybe improve,” he said.
Klein will be promoted to head of product management and sales at Mercedes-Benz Group AG on Sept. 1.
Mathias Vaitl, the current head of Mercedes me and the Digital Services Business and eCommerce division at Mercedes-Benz Group, will replace the outgoing CEO, according to Mercedes-Benz Korea.
Klein started his term in Korea in January 2021 and helped the German automaker report annual sales of more than 80,000 units for the first time among imported carmakers in Asia’s fourth-biggest economy last year.
For the whole of 2022, Mercedes-Benz Korea sold 80,976 autos, up 6.3 percent from 76,152 units a year earlier, helped by increased sales of electric and top-end luxury models.
Imported carmakers sold 283,435 units in the Korean passenger car market in 2022, up 2.6 percent from a year ago.
Their market share reached a record high of 19.69 percent, according to the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.
This file photo taken Nov. 3, 2022, shows a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Seoul. (Yonhap)
Mercedes-Benz began operations in South Korea two decades ago, and Korea has emerged as the fourth-biggest market for the German carmaker and the biggest market for the E-Class sedan in terms of sales.
The company has sold more than 200,000 units of the E-Class sedan in Korea since June 2016.
As for the reasons behind the stellar performance, he said Korean consumers have very discerning tastes, very good feel for and understanding of brand heritage, and a high level of affection for high quality materials and craftsmanship.
“You see that in any kind of environment, be it luxury fashion, luxury apparel, watches or whatever, so there is a very high, I would say, basic affection for luxury goods,” he said.
To satisfy demanding Korean consumers, Mercedes-Benz Group operates a team fully dedicated to analyzing their demands and reflecting them in its products.
Mercedes-Benz studies show Koreans buy Mercedes-Benz models for three things: aesthetics, prestige and social status.
“It’s a means of expressing your personality, and luxury goods, obviously because of the way you can customize them, give you much more opportunity to express yourself, and to show also your social status and other things, and I think that’s very particular in Korea,” Klein said.
(Yonhap)
