“Mercedes-Benz Will Not Leave Chinese Market Despite Political Tensions – Chairman Ula Köllenius Interview”

“Mercedes-Benz” has announced that it will not leave the Chinese market, even if there is an invasion of Taiwan. The head of the German car brand, Ula Köllenius, gave an interview to the local newspaper “Bild” and answered a journalist’s question about what would happen to the “Mercedes-Benz” business in China in the event of a “military dictatorship threat to a democratic neighboring country” (Taiwan). In response, the chairman of the board of Mercedes-Benz admitted that leaving the Chinese market “would be unthinkable for the entire German automobile industry”.

The “Bild” journalist reminded Köllenius that “Mercedes-Benz” left the Russian market when this aggressor country launched an invasion of neighboring Ukraine. However, the head of the “Mercedes-Benz” company made it clear in the answer that a similar scenario in relation to China is not considered even if the political tensions and disagreements escalate.

Koelenius points out that the main players in the world economy – Europe, the USA and China – should not compete with each other, but should cooperate mutually beneficially. Separating from China “would not make sense”, we are not naive – of course we see these political disagreements. We need to become more independent from individual countries, for example in the field of lithium-ion batteries. But giving up on China is an illusion and is also not desirable,” says Köllenius to Bild.

Also, the chairman of the board of “Mercedes-Benz” pointed out that “the automotive industry is experiencing a century of change” by switching to electric mobility, and German car manufacturers should roll up their sleeves if they do not want to lose their leading positions in the world automotive industry. The Mercedes-Benz boss called industry the basis of Germany’s prosperity: “We need reindustrialization, not deindustrialization.”

China is a very important market for the “Mercedes-Benz” manufacturer, for which 37% of last year’s sales were in this country, making up 18% of all revenues.

China is the largest new car market in the world in terms of both demand and supply. China registered 23 million new cars last year, almost as many as the United States (13 million) and Europe (11 million) combined during the same period.

“Mercedes-Benz” stopped the production of its models in the aggressor country a few weeks after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but in October announced its exit from the Russian market, stopping the supply of its vehicles, as well as selling its capital shares in all companies in Russia. Other Western, Japanese and South Korean automakers followed suit.

China, which considers Taiwan part of its territory, has increased military pressure over the past three years with the aim of forcing Taipei to accept Beijing’s sovereignty claims.

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