Mercedes-Benz Backs Smart With Ads, Deals

Tracey Matura, the new general manager of Smart USA. Mercedes is also offering lease and finance deals for the Smart brand through its Mercedes-Benz Financial Services captive finance arm. 179 per month for 24 months and 0.9 percent interest for 36 months and 1.9 percent for up to 60 months were launched last week. The TV and print advertising and competitive finance programs will be a first for Smart in the United States, Matura said. She would not say now much the programs will cost. Matura said in an interview last week. Mercedes-Benz took over the distribution, sales and marketing of the ailing Smart brand from Penske Automotive Group. Smart is owned and produced by Mercedes' parent, Daimler AG, but the U.S. Penske Automotive Group relied primarily on social media and event marketing to promote the Smart brand. Sales of the ForTwo microcar soared to 24,622 cars in 2008 as gasoline prices reached record highs. But as gasoline prices fell and the recession took its grip, Smart sales tumbled, falling to 5,927 cars last year. Through June this year, Smart sold 2,556 cars. Jay Agresta, president of Benzel-Busch Motor Car Corp. Englewood, N.J., and one of the first Smart dealers in the United States. Matura won't forecast how many more Smart cars Mercedes-Benz will sell, but said she's convinced the brand's potential hadn't been tapped. For starters, Mercedes-Benz can pitch Smart to young and urban buyers--the audience Penske Automotive Group initially targeted. Today, most Smart buyers are 45- to 50-year-old men living in the suburbs, Matura said. Only 75 Mercedes-Benz dealers are selling Smart, 53 appointed by Penske Automotive Group and 22 new dealers, Matura said. By year end, 100 Mercedes-Benz dealers will be selling Smart, she said. The next-generation Smart car being developed by Renault SA and Daimler AG won't come to market until 2014. The redesigned ForTwo and the third-generation Renault Twingo will be built on a Renault platform.

Their lives rely on the emissions of the B-Class F-CELL. The Hollywood stars are using the water, resulting out of the operation of the F-CELL, for drinking and cooking. The B-Class F-CELL is the first fuel cell electric vehicle from Mercedes-Benz to be built under series-production conditions. The electricity required for driving is generated on board the car in a chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen. With a range of some 400 kilometres and short refuelling times of less than three minutes, the B-Class F-CELL combines emission-free mobility with absolute feasibility for use on long journeys and impressive performance. Fuel cell technology is an integral component of Daimler's long-term drive system strategy, with emission-free mobility as the culmination of these efforts. Professor Dr Thomas Weber, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Group Research and Mercedes‑Benz Cars Development. During the Mercedes-Benz F-CELL World Drive of 2011, three B-Class F-CELL vehicles took 125 days to drive 30,000 kilometres through 14 countries on four continents, in a convincing demonstration of the everyday viability of this technology. Joshua Jackson was one of those who took part in the first circumnavigation of the globe with fuel cell cars, driving a section of the route in the USA.

Daimler AG (stock-exchange symbol DAI) continued its successful course in the third quarter of 2011. Group EBIT amounted to €1,968 million (Q3 2010: €2,418 million). Adjusted for special factors, however, EBIT from the ongoing business of €2,110 million was higher than in the prior-year period (Q3 2010: €2,022 million). Net profit for the period was €1,360 million (Q3 2010: €1,610 million) and earnings per share amounted to €1.21 (Q3 2010: €1.44). The development of earnings in the third quarter of 2011 primarily reflects the higher vehicle shipments by all divisions. As already announced in the second quarter, EBIT at Mercedes-Benz Cars was impacted by changes in the product mix and by charges due to the upcoming model changes. All other divisions posted higher earnings than in the prior-year period. “Daimler operated very successfully also in the third quarter. All divisions developed as we expected,” commented Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Our company is extremely well positioned in this jubilee year and has a very sound balance sheet. All the divisions are pursuing their goals very consistently and are right on track.

At the same time, we are more flexible than ever before, so that we can react quickly to future developments,” Zetsche pointed out. Net profit for the third quarter of 2011 includes charges from the impairment of Daimler’s investments in Renault and Kamaz of €110 million and €23 million respectively. The investments had to be impaired to their fair values due to the sharp fall in both companies’ share prices. Group revenue increased significantly by 5% to €26.4 billion (Q3 2010: €25.1 billion). The net liquidity of the industrial business amounted to €10.4 billion at September 30, 2011 (December 31, 2010: €11.9 billion). Excluding the increase in our investment in Tognum and the contributions to our pension funds, the free cash flow of the industrial business was also significantly positive at €1.5 billion. The division achieved EBIT of €1,108 million, despite a large number of factors with a negative impact on earnings (Q3 2010: €1,299 million).