Did you know that Mercedes-Benz has nearly 30 models on sale in the U.S. at the moment? Factor in the various engine choices and body styles and you're looking at nearly 90 different models. This is causing Mercedes-Benz and their dealers a number of headaches dealing with it.
"It has gotten to the point of being just too much to manage customer model confusion, vehicle logistics and manufacturing. Each of these models require marketing support, education at the dealer level, even service and parts inventory," said Jeff Schuster, president of global forecasting at LMC Automotive.
Mercedes is going to do something about it. Earlier this month, the German automaker told dealers at a national meeting in Las Vegas they would be cutting back on the number of models it offers within the next twelve months.
"We are going to see models go away within the next 12 months. Within the next 90 days, we might see some of those announcements," according to one unnamed dealer who was at the meeting.
The automaker also announced that it would be scaling back the number of options and equipment packages it offers. Poor selling options would be dropped, while popular ones would become "standard equipment on certain models" or tacked "onto existing feature packages."
What models may get the ax? We know that the SLC roadster will be leaving the lineup next year due to slumping sales. Automotive News speculates the C-Class coupe/cabrio and S-Class coupe/cabrio could also go due to sales falling.
Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)
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