As well all know, General Motors and Ford are drastically cutting back on fleet sales in an effort to boost their sagging resale values. It is a simply law of oversupply vs. demand in the used car market.
Now in a contradictory move, Automotive News is reporting today that Mercedes Benz is looking to aggressively increase fleet sales in Europe.
Klaus Maier, Mercedes’ executive vice president for sales and marketing, said the automaker is pitching its new C class and E Class to fleet operators and other major corporations. “We are trying to get more speed (in fleet sales) than we have ever had,” Maier told Automotive News Europe.
Now on the surface it seems seems that what would work in one market would probably apply to others as well. So why is Mercedes treading down a proven road to resale disaster?