Mercedes Sees The Breadth Of Its Domain, And Weeps For There Are No More Niches To Conquer
Top Gear
raised the question to Benz at the Geneva Motor Show, wondering if the
company has realized it makes everything from economy hatchbacks to
luxury six-wheel drive pickups and every kind of coupe-ified crossover
in between. Benz boss Dieter Zetsche was remarkably self-aware about it
all:
“Of course, every new car we launch has some
‘substitution aspects’ to the existing portfolio”, said the ever-affable
German. “But typically we have a higher cannibalisation impact on our
competition, which is what we are aiming for!” He cracks a broad smile
from behind the trademark moustache.
Zetsche added that the company does believe that there are limits to how many models a company should sell:
“There’s
a level of fragmentation where even the customer might get confused,
and you’re not adding value any more, and to find the right balance
there is certainly not easy.”
And he concluded that, desire or no, there’s not much else to look into:
“There
are not that many niches left to fill, of course. But, we stay creative
and innovative. I can’t tell you what ideas we will have tomorrow. But
we have a pretty full picture.”
That
quote about Alexander the Great, “when Alexander saw the breadth of his
domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer,” that sounds
so apt in this context is attributed to Plutarch but
is probably from Die Hard. So I’ll add in one
that’s actually from Plutarch
that’s also relevant here, one that the decision makers at Mercedes
should ponder: “Know ye not that the end and object of conquest is to
avoid doing the same thing as the conquered?”
(Jalopnik.com)
