Mercedes-Benz Cars New Zealand is moving to an agency model for selling from 2022, meaning customers can buy directly from the distributor and not have to go into a dealership.

Mercedes NZ made the announcement this morning and follows South Africa, Sweden and soon Australia with this style of selling vehicles.

In a statement, Mercedes NZ said: “In the interest of best customer experience, Mercedes-Benz will adopt an agency sales model in several markets around the world for new vehicle sales. After careful consideration, this will include Mercedes-Benz New Zealand from January 2022. 

“Mercedes-Benz New Zealand is working closely with the Mercedes-Benz retail network to develop a plan that ensures we continue to deliver the best customer experience and address customers’ present and future expectations.”

Mercedes-Benz global said the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the digitalisation process.

For Mercedes-Benz worldwide, digital “touchpoints have become a fixed feature of every customer journey – regardless of whether the selected vehicle is ultimately purchased online or in person on-site”. 

Virtually every vehicle sale starts off with online research, meaning that around 90 per cent of customers are already well informed by the time they arrive at the dealership.

Previously customers used to visit the dealership an average of eight times before making a purchase decision. These days, customers come into the dealership an average of one to two times before deciding to buy

“The past few months have been a challenge for all of us,” said says Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, responsible for Marketing & Sales.

“However, our sales and service teams around the world were able to respond very quickly to the changing customer demands and legal requirements. Our global partners have developed creative, digital and contactless solutions so that we can continue to provide our customers with the best possible service.” 

In the meantime, almost all Mercedes-Benz dealerships worldwide have re-opened. “Purchase interest among our customers remains strong and we are receiving very positive feedback on the many online activities of our retail partners worldwide,” said Seeger.

Mercedes-Benz expects to achieve more than 25 per cent of global passenger car sales through online channels together with its trading partners by 2025.

“I truly believe this is the future model of doing things in automotive,” she said. 

In an agency model the distributor retains ownership of the vehicle stock and sets the retail price meaning you can’t negotiate with a dealer. The dealers will instead focus on marketing, handing-off, and servicing the cars.

Toyota and Honda New Zealand have similar agency models.