Currently, there are a number of compact products in the Mercedes-Benz line-up which utilise the MFA2 platform. These include the A-Class hatch and sedan, CLA, GLA, GLB and B-Class. Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius has come on record to say that the brand remains committed to these segments despite recent reports stating otherwise.
In an interview with Automotive News Europe, Kallenius stated “Over the last two generations, our compact vehicles have been phenomenally successful at broadening our lineup and growing Mercedes’ customer base. They have also been financially successful in terms of lifting the overall scale for our brand. Therefore, we are not exiting that segment per se, because there are many positions in our compact portfolio that generate healthy profitability,”
A report from 2019 hinted that a high-ranking Mercedes-Benz executive refused to rule out the possibility of the brand further expanding its already extensive compact vehicle range. He suggested that while there were no immediate plans to grow the line-up, a move to expand was not beyond the realms of possibility.
Adding to this, Kallenius went on to say “What we will not do is go down and start competing with the volume automakers. Instead, we will carefully choose the portfolio positions in that segment that offer the highest contribution reward and are the most representative of the Mercedes brand promise. That’s what I mean when I speak about profitable growth, not growth at all costs. So, we will continue to compete in the upper end of the compact segments that we are in. We are not exiting those segments.”
With the compact range being considered a financial success, Kallenius confirms that the company is in good shape.
“The last time we lost money was during the global financial crisis in 2009. In 2020, despite the sharp drop in the market during the first couple of months due to the corona shutdowns, we still had reasonably healthy profitability, even though we ended the year with relatively low volume. Our cash flow in 2020 was also quite healthy. That shows the positive effects of the measures we took ahead of and during the pandemic.” He said.
