The uncertainty about the future of the taxi industry is now exacerbating a conflict between a taxi association and the car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz.

The German Taxi and Rental Car Association notes "with deep horror" what Mercedes has done in terms of setting the course for the taxi industry.

The previously typical Mercedes taxi, according to the association "the bread-and-butter taxi", should no longer exist in the future.

Because with the introduction of the new E-Class in the coming year, there will no longer be any taxi equipment for these Mercedes models in the upper middle class.

Tobias Piller

Editor in Business.

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The compact van B-Class should also no longer be offered with taxi equipment with the facelift.

Mercedes-Benz justifies the step with market analyses.

They had shown that "in the future, when it comes to passenger transport, the demand for spacious, multifunctional vehicles with a higher entrance and up to seven seats will continue to increase".

In the future, Mercedes-Benz will offer taxi drivers the V-Class as a van or as a bus derived from the Vito delivery van.

No replacement, say the taxi drivers

But from the point of view of the taxi and rental car association, this is not a replacement for the E-Class.

Many customers wanted the comfort of the E-Class, says a spokesman for the association, which claims to represent 7,000 taxi companies that tend to be active in rural areas.

According to a spokesman for the Taxi and Rental Car Association, many taxi drivers still prefer classic and comfortable cars for discerning customers as a shuttle to the airport or for ambulance trips.

"Customers who order a taxi have been expecting a Mercedes E-Class to come for years."

Exact figures on the car manufacturers' market shares among taxi drivers have not been public for a long time.

In 2016 it was said that 60 percent of taxi drivers drove a Mercedes.

For a long time, the relationship between Mercedes and the taxi companies seemed to bear the traits of a symbiosis: the customers were to be shown the durability and comfort of the Mercedes cars in the taxi.

At the same time, the taxi drivers, with their high mileage, were also important test drivers.

When, in 2002, the third generation of the E-Class was to score points with a technically innovative brake, it was the taxi drivers who quickly revealed all the shortcomings of the new system.

For decades it seemed a matter of course

Sales of E and B classes have declined

The taxi and rental car association is now wrinkling its nose at the fact that Mercedes taxi drivers should only be provided with commercial vehicles.

There is also outrage at the fact that the car manufacturer presents you with a fait accompli and apparently did not receive any communication beforehand.

Mercedes officially announces that sales of “our spacious taxi models”, i.e. the minibuses, have increased steadily.

In contrast, sales of the E and B class taxi models have steadily declined over the past four years.

However, the Corona crisis fell in these years, which plunged the taxi industry into a serious crisis.

While trips to airports and train stations were canceled due to a lack of travel interest, taxi companies had little leeway to order new cars in this time of crisis.

Two circumstances that are important to taxi operators remain unsaid in the protests: For independent taxi drivers, driving a Mercedes E-Class has also been an opportunity to buy an attractive and comfortable job for yourself.

With a Mercedes, especially the Mercedes E-Class, the taxi companies also try to differentiate themselves from the offers of the cheaper provider Uber.

There has been a lot of movement in this market recently, and current data is difficult to find.

For 2016, a special survey by the Federal Ministry of Transport reported 53,000 taxis and almost 40,000 rental cars.

Taxi driver in trouble

The taxi drivers see themselves in a bind: they want to offer better service than cheaper competitors, but can no longer afford expensive cars without a special taxi discount.

Whether in the future a taxi driver will even be able to have a Mercedes E-Class converted at his own expense remains uncertain, because too deep interventions in the electronics can also result in the loss of the guarantee.

One of the difficulties in the current situation is that there are two associations that want to represent taxi drivers instead of one with greater weight in Berlin or opposite Mercedes.

For its part, the competing Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars does not dare to criticize Mercedes and states: "We do not comment on product decisions made by our partners."

With its fire letter, the competing taxi and rental car association has at least managed to get Mercedes-Benz to meet it about the needs of taxi drivers - not, however, by company boss Ola Källenius, to whom the complaint was addressed, but by sales specialists, who certainly can no longer change anything about the fundamental decisions.