PETALING JAYA (June 30): Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has seen a jump in inquiries following the implementation of the government’s sales tax exemption for locally-assembled cars, which Mercedes Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd president and chief executive officer Dr Claus Weidner said indicate demand for the brand’s vehicles is returning to the pre-movement control order level.
 
Besides the sales tax exemption that is applicable from June 15 to Dec 31, the government has also halved the sales tax for fully imported cars during the same period.

“Definitely in the last week, we have seen a change in demand, as you might expect, coming from the government’s sales tax moratorium. This gives our customers a big advantage on the tax regime and pricing structures.

“From that perspective, we are very happy to see that customer's demand has been steadily growing. We can only hope that this is sustainable for the next month and the months to come,” Weidner told reporters during a virtual press briefing today.

The briefing was held in conjunction with the launch of Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd’s (C&C Bintang’s) RM8.3 million refurbished Cycle & Carriage Alor Setar Autohaus. C&C Bintang is one of the largest Mercedes-Benz dealerships in the country.

The upgrading of the outlets is to match the new Mercedes-Benz Brand Presence, as well as the three luxury sports models it launched virtually on June 1 — the 2020 AMG45 S and AMG35 hatchbacks, as well as the AMG CLA45 S — as part of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s strategy to ensure the brand continues to become the most popular luxury car brand in the country.

“In order to come back to a stable business, we are looking at putting our customers at the centre of what we do. We are there when they have issues. We are quite confident that the second half of the year will be a good year for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia,” Weidner said.

Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, Mercedes-Benz has been the number one luxury car brand in Malaysia for a number of years. The brand sold 13,079 units in 2018, its fifth consecutive year of record sales. In 2019, it remained as the top-selling premium car brand with 10,020 units sold.

Meanwhile, C&C Bintang’s CEO Wilfrid Foo said the upgraded outlet signifies the company’s commitment to its customers in the northern region of Peninsular Malaysia.

“This Alor Setar Autohaus is the northernmost outlet among our networks of outlets along the Peninsular. This shows we are there and will continue to be there for Mercedes-Benz customers from Alor Setar all the way to Johor Bahru.

“[We don’t just get] customers to buy a product and disappear. We are in the business of supporting and taking care for them. That is the kind of commitment we are giving, as we focus on making the customer experience an exceptional journey,” Foo said.

C&C Bintang has 12 sales and after-sales service centres across the country, which the company is committed to upgrade to reflect the new Mercedes-Benz Retail Brand Presence in the near future. After the outlet in Alor Setar, it plans to upgrade two more outlets in the second half of this year.

According to C&C Bintang, the upgraded Autohaus is supported by a team of Star Assistants, a team of customer service representatives dedicated to ensuring customers will be welcomed and their needs attended to as seamlessly as possible, when they step into the outlet.