Mercedes-Benz Is Trying to Woo Blue-Collar America
Mercedes-Benz USA, a subsidiary of the German automaker giant Daimler AG, is best known for its lineup of luxury cars and SUVs. However, its recent advertising strategy shows that the company may be trying to compete with Ford and General Motors to capture the heart of a different demographic: blue-collar America.
Truck, SUV, and van sales are a big market in the U.S., smaller only than China. Through September, nearly 13 million light vehicles have been sold this year, 8 million of which were trucks, SUVs, and vans. Granted, most of those are not work vehicles. However, over 2 million pickups and over 300,000 commercial vans have been sold so far this year. Work van sales have gone up substantially in recent years, increasing nearly 10% in 2016 and expected to clear 400,000 again this year.
By contrast, car sales are down 10.5% in 2017. That trend has hurt Mercedes-Benz, too, with its car sales dipping 5.4%. That isn't too concerning, as auto sales are cyclical in nature, and the economy is still growing.
Source: Fool.com
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