I never said that! At least not like that!
If, as we can safely assume, you not only read our newsletters but also remember them, you will of course know that three years ago we already had a lot to criticize about Mercedes' new "luxury strategy". At that time, the CEO announced at an investor conference that the company would "think and act like a luxury company" in future, especially because the luxury sector is known to generate such fat margins. For us, it seemed hard to imagine at the time and not very sensible to transform Mercedes into the LVHM of the mobility industry, but hey ... in Stuttgart they should know what they're doing! But now we learn in the Handelsblatt that the strategy never really had anything to do with the word "luxury", it was more about the "special". Well, we don't want to savor our "I-told-you-so moment" here. We'd rather be pleased that people now seem to have understood that a Mercedes can't be a Kelly bag: It is too functional, innovative, solid and even sensible for that - or rather, it should be. Because a Mercedes always has to do one thing (and a Ferrari certainly doesn't): Drive! What makes it special is the way it drives - and in the future, autonomously. And what is also special is how long it drives. Then it becomes, yes, mythical. "Mythical" is too much for you? Then we strongly recommend the following, truly wonderful film: "Cars for Eternity", by Lourdes Picareta and Stefan Maier. The way Roberto drives his yellow L1315 through Brazil and philosophizes about life is a must-see if you like cars. Have fun!
Here is the link:
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