Mercedes-Benz to introduce 12 new vehicles in Korea this year

Industry

Published: 01 Feb. 2023, 16:56

Mercedes-Benz to introduce 12 new vehicles in Korea this year

Johannes Schoen, vice president of product, marketing and digital business at Mercedes-Benz Korea, speaks during a press conference Wednesday at Grand Hyatt Seoul in central Seoul. [MERCEDES-BENZ KOREA]

Mercedes-Benz will introduce 12 new vehicles in Korea this year, in a bid to maintain its position at the top of Korea’s import market.

The lineup includes two entirely new electric vehicles (EVs), two fully revamped models and eight upgrades. Mercedes has been Koreans' most favorite imported brand for seven consecutive years.

"Of all Mercedes vehicles that will be sold in Korea this year, 15 percent will be EVs," said Lee Sang-kuk, vice president of the sales department at Mercedes-Benz Korea.

Mercedes sold 80,976 vehicles in Korea last year, and of them, around 6 percent were EVs, according to data from the Korea Automobile Importers & Distributors Association (Kaida).

It became the first foreign auto brand to surpass the 80,000-mark in annual sales. In terms of units sold, Korea was the fourth largest market for Mercedes last year, after China, the United States and Germany.

The first in the lineup is the EQS SUV, its biggest and most luxurious EV that was introduced on Tuesday. It's also the first SUV to be developed based on the German carmaker's EVA2 modular platform.

Officials from Mercedes-Benz Korea including Vice Presidents Johannes Schoen, far left, and Lee Sang-kuk, third from left, take a photo with the EQS SUV at a press conference on Wednesday. [MERCEDES-BENZ KOREA]

The EQE SUV will be introduced in the second half. The sedan version of EQE was released last year, which was the biggest contributor to the increase in sales, boosting EV sales by almost four times.

The carmaker will also strengthen its R&D center by increasing the workforce by 50 percent to develop more customized technologies for the Korean market and strengthening its role as the Asian hub for future car research and development.

Mercedes has some 64 showrooms across the country.

"2022 was a meaningful year when we expanded our premium service experience to achieve the highest brand satisfaction and recorded positive business growth," said Thomas Klein, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Korea.

"In 2023, we will lay another groundwork for Mercedes-Benz Korea to leap forward with a new strategy and will strive to become a company that sells the most valuable vehicles to more customers and provides the best possible services at the same time."

The competition in imported auto brands has been intensifying over the years, with BMW on the heels of Mercedes. BMW sold 78,554 vehicles last year, up 19.6 percent on year.

Audi's sales dropped 16.4 percent to 21,419 in Korea in 2022.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]