How do you as a car brand best maintain close contact with your customers? Mercedes-Benz boss

Ola Källenius

(54) has decided: There is no longer a need for car dealerships in Germany. That's why he's putting his remaining 60 branches up for sale.

The sales houses are supposed to take over specialized retail chains. Källenius expects more agility and pragmatism from them - and for his car manufacturer more concentration on the development and production of successful electric models.

What risks are associated with the step? What does the sales plan say about Källenius' big strategic goal of positioning Mercedes-Benz as a luxury brand in the electric car era? And what lessons does the plan hold about the future of brick-and-mortar retail?

In this podcast, Christoph Seyerlein, car sales expert in the editorial team of manager magazin, provides information about this in conversation with editor-in-chief Sven Clausen.

In the “Das Thema” podcast, editor-in-chief Sven Clausen provides information every week about the editorial team’s exclusive findings on a topic that is crucial for the German economy. You can subscribe to the podcast via manager magazin as well as on Spotify, Apple, Deezer and Google.

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