Mercedes Benz will reduce S-Class production, which has seen sales plummet.

Mercedes Benz will reduce S-Class production, which has seen sales plummet.

In the first quarter, 16,900 S-Class units were sold (including AMG and Maybach brands), down 37% year-on-year, and production cuts are the result.

Sales fell not only by sedans, but even including GLS, EQS, and EQS SUVs, sales fell 23%.

It is difficult to see it as a result of the economic downturn, because BMW's sales of the 7 series increased by 19.3% during the same period (15,136 units).

The decrease in sales of the S-Class seems to be a bit problematic compared to the decrease in sales of the Audi A8, which is close to changing the model due to the announcement in 2017.

Not long ago, I filmed a video about the E-class, and the beginning was actually the S-class.

I got the new S450 as a rental car and rode it for a few days, and the steering reaction, suspension movement, and engine noise were so disappointing compared to the old S class.
It wasn't a problem with the vehicle, it was a feeling of alienation that I've always felt at Mercedes Benz in recent years.

I don't want to ride it. I said I would return it early with the intention that I would rather ride a motorcycle until my car was repaired, but I rode it because I heard that there was a freshly released E-class, and I was so disappointed that I filmed a video of "Don't Buy."

A few years ago, I gave up my test-drive on the E350 because I felt the dissonance between the engine and transmission that I always felt in Mercedes Benz small cars even in the E-Class. Adding it didn't improve with the new model. The engine was still shaky, and without the 'high-end car mark', it would have taken dozens of complaints.

The reason why S-Class did not film videos at the time was that it was difficult to get sympathy because there were not many experienced people, and existing S-Class owners habitually change their models every time.

But I guess I wasn't the only one who felt it when I saw the news of production cuts.

I don't know if you're in the back seat, but if you're behind the wheel, you can't help but feel the regression. Every time you turn the steering, as soon as you cross the irregularities, the 'magic body control' is frowned upon.

Mercedes-Benz's problem is not a fire but a setback in its overall completeness. It has been more than a decade since I felt complacent that it is okay as long as it meets the expectations of customers who said, "It's not going to run anyway." The quality of Mercedes-Benz is gradually deteriorating, and the abundance that I felt when I was running leisurely has long disappeared. It is heavy, squirming and shaking.

It was in 2013 that BMW lost to Rolls-Royce, which was newly created by BMW, after bringing the disappeared brand "Maybach."

I thought I was going to be desperate, but I didn't feel normal when I saw the name 'Mercedes Maybach' after they raised the price by just changing the badge on the same car as Mercedes Benz.
(The previous 57/62 was a separate car with a different chassis number than the S-Class.)

Making money from branding without mechanical differences is something that no one in the automotive industry has dared to do.

Compared to mechanical problems, the lack of taste such as over-the-top logo or loud interior design is rather minor. Cosmetics can be mocked as "because the Chinese market likes it," but a German car that has lost sharpness in engineering is not worth its existence.

I hate the word 'jjangts'.
The largest shareholder considers the Chinese accident capital as a Chinese car because it is not suitable for this era of internationalization.

However, given the recent creation and design language, I think that's the only way to think about it.

With over 20 years of experience in interviewing car executives, I am well aware of how thorough they are when it comes to information verification. They often do not acknowledge information that everyone would know if it is not accurate. So, I was not at all surprised that Mercedes Benz uses Chinese-made batteries in its 100 million-dollar car (most of the K batteries are from China), but I was also quite surprised that in interviews with leading domestic media, I told them the wrong supplier of the batteries. Of course, it was not the first time that I felt a problem with Mercedes-Benz's communication, but I had no idea it would be that bad.

I don't know much about internal political issues, but I wish a proper manager could make a proper decision. It would be a waste for the Mercedes Benz brand to change like this.

I hope the day will come when veterans hear the word "Car is Benz" again, not because they don't know about cars.

When it comes to Korea, no longer increase the number of sales and use it as an outpost for the president's honor. I'm rooting for imported car companies to diversify the domestic automobile culture, not to leak foreign currency. Return to the era of diversity and completeness instead of sales and operating profit.