Mercedes-Benz starts online sales of new cars for the whole of Germany

Configuring one’s desired automobile on the internet and ordering it online from the comfort of the couch at the weekend or when on the move is now possible with the new Mercedes-Benz online store.

The carmaker has launched a new website: www.online-store.mercedes-benz.de, allowing interested persons all over Germany to choose from a number of preconfigured new cars including electric and hybrid models as well as special editions.

Commenting on the new initiative, Ola Källenius, member of the board of management of Daimler AG for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales said, “Customers would like to come into contact with a premium brand everywhere and at any time. They expect more and more digital information and interaction possibilities. With our nationwide Mercedes-Benz online store, we are now fulfilling this customer requirement and are taking a further step towards the sales of the future. We are cooperating closely with our retail operations in connection with online sales. This means that our own sales-and-service centers and authorized dealers profit directly from the online store and make contact with customers and interested persons in this way.”

If a customer in the online store is interested in a car, he can arrange a test drive with a comparable model or can immediately order the desired model and pick it up at a chosen dealership. The customer thereby has a direct contact person. The carmaker has however emphasised that the dealership continues to be the most important contact also after delivery, for service or accessories for example.

Flexible purchase with the use of a webcam

The online store further allows customers to directly purchase select from various leasing and financing products with installments through a link to the Mercedes-Benz Bank. The identification procedure of Deutsche Post that is necessary with leasing and financing agreements is supplemented with video identification. This allows convenient identification of the customer using a webcam from anywhere.

The Mercedes-Benz Bank is the first auto bank in Germany which offers video legitimation for the conclusion of leasing and financing agreements. This means that for the first time, the process of sale can be fully concluded online and on seven days of the week. An online installment calculator helps the customer to adjust the payments to his or her needs. Through the customer contact center, customers have access to product experts via telephone, e-mail or online chat on questions about the vehicle and the various payment options.

“With our modern and intuitive online store, we will put interested persons and customers in touch with our cars everywhere and at any time. We now have a nationwide online offer featuring new functionalities such as watch lists, filter functions, installment calculators, product advice and digital transactions, with daily updates,” explained Dr Carsten Oder, chief executive of Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales Germany and Head MBVD.

Further online stores in Poland and Italy

Mercedes–Benz was the first automobile manufacturer worldwide which starts an online store for sales of new cars on the internet with its pilot project in Hamburg in 2013. Vehicle delivery was limited to customers from the Hamburg region through the Mercedes-Benz sales-and-service center there. Meanwhile, the company has contacts with customers and interested persons with internet sales platforms also in other countries: Since 2014, there has been a regional online store with leasing offers for selected Mercedes-Benz cars in Warsaw at www.online-store.mercedes-benz.pl.

Online sales are used also by smart, the brand for urban mobility. Since December 2015, the smallest cars in the portfolio of Mercedes-Benz Cars have been available on the internet at www.smartforstore.it. smart is the world’s first car producer to combine an online store for new cars with a virtual showroom.

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