|
firstmb
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
At cursory glance, first quarter numbers from German auto rivals BMW and Mercedes-Benz couldn't differ more dramatically were they coming at the crescendo of a Wagnerian opera. Sales and market share bounded at BMW, while Mercedes-Benz appeared once again the black sheep of parent DaimlerChrysler (DCX), the only one of five divisions losing money.
BMW -- now the world's largest premium carmaker -- beat analyst expectations, reporting pretax profits had jumped 57.7%, to $1.64 billion. Granted, those numbers got a boost from the one-time sale of shares in British aircraft-engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce. But vehicle deliveries are up 14%, and auto division profits are up 7.2%, to $960 million.
At Mercedes-Benz, meanwhile, things weren't as gloomy as they have been in recent quarters. Revenues increased by a healthy 19%, but operating losses were an ungainly $823 million. Moreover, Mercedes is still saddled with the trouble-ridden Smart division and suffering ongoing costs associated with staff reductions.
COMMON ENEMY. A closer look, though, reveals Mercedes forcefully pushing back against BMW and others. Unit sales rose 16%, buoyed from a vastly improved model mix. Mercedes launched new M-Class, R-Class, and S-Class models. What's more, the luxury super-SUV, the GL-Class, goes on sale this May in the U.S. And reception of upcoming clean BlueTec diesel technology, showcased at the Detroit and Geneva auto shows, has been positive (see BW Online, 4/3/06, "Green Diesel? Mercedes Takes on Japan").
With Japanese auto makers making a renewed push towards the luxury markets, BMW and Mercedes are facing a common foe, despite diverging financial portraits. A revamped Infiniti G35 is gunning for BMW's stalwart 3-Series, and Lexus has finally come up with a serious ultra-luxury sedan, the LS460.
In response to such increased competition, Milton Pedraza, the CEO of independent research firm The Luxury Institute in Manhattan, counsels both brands to resist the temptation to move downmarket. "The high-end market is going to come to them," he says, "All they need to do is be pure-bred, true to their DNA. Luxury brands get the strongest brand effect by staying in their sweet spots."
SAFETY FIRSTS. Pedraza, whose firm collects data on wealthy individuals' buying habits and perceptions, notes that both Mercedes-Benz and BMW still rate among the top three most highly prized auto brands. And both companies topped the list of most-recognized luxury brand names, with nearly identical scores, for consumers with a net-worth of $5 million or more.
BusinessWeek Online set out to compare current offerings from both manufacturers to determine where things stand -- on the lot -- between the two luxury giants.
Both carmakers pride themselves on state-of-the-art safety features, and most models (even sporty roadsters) do well in government crash tests. In the past, Mercedes models enjoyed a marginal advantage over BMWs. Fittingly, Mercedes boasts a storied history of safety innovation, rivaling even Volvo for milestones. It invented crumple zones, a now nearly ubiquitous auto feature, in the early 1950s. Among many other firsts, it made anti-lock breaks standard and introduced airbags to North America.
HOW RELIABLE? If Mercedes vehicles enjoy a slight safety lead, particularly in side-impact tests, BMW trounces its rival in total cost of ownership. TCO is generally calculated as estimated depreciation plus maintenance, financing, tax, insurance, fuel, and repair costs over a five-year period. The figure gives a more accurate picture of a luxury vehicle's cost than does the lower, more attractive sticker price.
Of the vehicles BusinessWeek Online compared, all the Mercedes models had a higher five-year TCO. On average, comparable BMWs were about 6% less costly to own long-term. Particularly expensive Mercedes include both convertibles, the CLK and SLK, which are between 12% and 15% more expensive to own.
Reliability is a grey area, particularly for Mercedes. Consumer Reports has slowly been taking its "recommended" badge away from Mercedes cars, to the point of suggesting buyers stay away from both new and used models in 2006. But that may be a slight exaggeration. DaimlerChrysler has been reinvesting heavily, and the 2006 S-Class is raking up quality awards left and right.
TOUGH CHOICE. Moreover, residual value continues to be strong. Last year, three Mercedes made Edmund's Top 10 luxury cars with the best residual values, the CLK topping the list. In the end, TCO may be the best indicator of a luxury vehicle's ultimate financial burden.
Along with top-line factors, myriad minor issues can affect the decision between a model from one manufacturer or the other, from Mercedes' current quality woes to BMW's mind-bogglingly complicated iDrive dash-control system.
Ultimately, it's hard to loose when choosing between a BMW and a Mercedes-Benz. It's no accident both companies have garnered fanatically supportive customers and are among the most highly regarded brands on earth.
|
|
| |
|
Misfit
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| RE: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
1 point : "..or consumers with a net-worth of $5 million or more. ""
WTF ???
OK - how many of you here are in that - I am guessing less than 1/10 of 1 per cent
|
|
| |
|
AndrewAZ
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| RE: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
Misfit - 5/5/2006 12:42 PM
1 point : "..or consumers with a net-worth of $5 million or more. ""
WTF ???
OK - how many of you here are in that - I am guessing less than 1/10 of 1 per cent
Lot more than you would think. |
|
| |
|
NZ Benz
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 1993 300SEL/S320
Posts: 2555
| RE: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
As far as new car sales go I'm not suprised that they would look for people with a net of + 5mill. |
|
| |
|
AsianML
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
WTF are they on? I'm sure a guy with 5 mil would buy a C or 3. Maybe they would, but the chances of it all...
Misfit--Think of it this way. At least we don't have self-proclaimed billionaires with several warehouses full of exotics, a few yachts, and have not shown any proof of it all even though they said it'd be ready in a few weeks after a few months have gone by. |
|
| |
|
Gareth Coe
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| RE: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
AndrewAZ - 5/5/2006 9:59 PM Misfit - 5/5/2006 12:42 PM 1 point : "..or consumers with a net-worth of $5 million or more. "" WTF ??? OK - how many of you here are in that - I am guessing less than 1/10 of 1 per cent Lot more than you would think. Lend me a tenner, then  |
|
| |
|
NZ Benz
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 1993 300SEL/S320
Posts: 2555
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
AsianML - 5/5/2006 11:22 PM
WTF are they on? I'm sure a guy with 5 mil would buy a C or 3. Maybe they would, but the chances of it all...
Misfit--Think of it this way. At least we don't have self-proclaimed billionaires with several warehouses full of exotics, a few yachts, and have not shown any proof of it all even though they said it'd be ready in a few weeks after a few months have gone by.
You forgot that jet that I own   . But alot of rich people dont want big or fast cars. An s class or a 7 series is alot to handel on the road for most people. |
|
| |
|
flyboyike
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
NZ Benz - 5/6/2006 5:03 AM You forgot that jet that I own . Need a pilot? |
|
| |
|
AndrewAZ
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
AsianML - 5/5/2006 8:22 PM
WTF are they on? I'm sure a guy with 5 mil would buy a C or 3. Maybe they would, but the chances of it all...
Misfit--Think of it this way. At least we don't have self-proclaimed billionaires with several warehouses full of exotics, a few yachts, and have not shown any proof of it all even though they said it'd be ready in a few weeks after a few months have gone by.
I know 2 people whose parents have more than $50 million. The most expense car one of them has is an 2002 S430 and that is his wife's car he drives a nissan titan. The other one the most expensive car they have is a tie between a Range Rover and a 2002 porsche convertible. One of their kids has a toyota Tacoma pickup truck and the other drives a 2004 Range Rover. Heck I know people that have a heck of a lot less than my family does that drive nicer cars but they are the people who live month to month. |
|
| |
|
NZ Benz
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 1993 300SEL/S320
Posts: 2555
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
Gareth Coe - 5/6/2006 3:12 PM
NZ Benz - 5/6/2006 11:03 AM a 7 series is alot to handel on the road for most people. With classical music on the stereo?
???? I don't get  |
|
| |
|
storm
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
most millionaires i know all have S-classes (mostly black bulletproof W140's). |
|
| |
|
Gareth Coe
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
NZ Benz - 5/7/2006 12:33 AM ???? I don't get :confuzed: NZ Benz - 5/6/2006 11:03 AM a 7 series is alot to handel on the road for most people. c'mon, c'mon |
|
| |
|
NZ Benz
Expert
Date registered: Apr 2006
Location: New Zealand
Vehicle(s): 1993 300SEL/S320
Posts: 2555
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
Gareth Coe - 5/7/2006 6:54 AM
NZ Benz - 5/7/2006 12:33 AM ???? I don't get :confuzed: NZ Benz - 5/6/2006 11:03 AM a 7 series is alot to handel on the road for most people. c'mon, c'mon
Handle, Sorry its the spelling police  |
|
| |
|
nomad
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| RE: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
While I can't comment on that millionaire stuff, being in organised crime and all 
I recently had the use of an E36 328i while my 500SEL was at the panel shop and boy are they fantastic cars, especially compared to the diabolically cheap crap W202 I checked out at a local car auction the other day, maybe not all are like that but it was very disapointing nonetheless
Another W202 at a dealer was better, but not by much
I have a lot of respect for BMW's, I was most impressed with the little 3, a great car
 |
|
| |
|
nomad
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
Gareth Coe - 5/7/2006 7:12 AM
NZ Benz - 5/6/2006 11:03 AM a 7 series is alot to handel on the road for most people. With classical music on the stereo?
I'm partial to Barber and Vivaldi myself, while driving |
|
| |
|
BenzDieselTuner
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
i like both kinds..........MB and BMW.......
they are all excellent luxury sports cars........
|
|
| |
|
BenzDieselTuner
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
of course, i only appreciate cars of the 80's......German cars of the 80's...... |
|
| |
|
Gareth Coe
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
BenzDieselTuner - 5/7/2006 1:33 PM of course, i only appreciate cars of the 80's......German cars of the 80's...... Then you need these guys on the stereo...:  
|
|
| |
|
Misfit
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| RE: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
AndrewAZ - 5/5/2006 4:59 PM
Lot more than you would think.
I meant of the general population - also reember that thread from the "other" place - some of the richest people -and the don't all drive benzes
If you are "targeting"that small a population - the only car you will sell is Maybach |
|
| |
|
Misfit
Date registered: Dec 1899
Location:
Vehicle(s):
| Re: German Throwdown: BMW vs. Mercedes-Benz
storm - 5/6/2006 11:44 PM
most millionaires i know all have S-classes (mostly black bulletproof W140's).
That is in PK though ??
I know one person in that category that drives a Benz. 2 others I know, 1 drives a 4 runner and the other a Camry |
|
| |
