Mercedes has deep dived into what their customers will brag about to their neighbors in the future. The chat will non longer only be about the amazingly smooth ride or the outstanding performance, the nr 1 differentiating factor will be the environmental footprint they leave behind.
Mercedes Benz, being maybe the most prestigious volume car brand in the world, presented their roadmap when launching their new concept car called VISION AVTR at CES 2020.
IS MERCEDES AVTR A NEW CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE?
The stronghold of the automotive industry and ultimate barrier of entry for competitors has been a combination of complicated production lines, long lead times and heavy investing in R&D & patents. This is about to change fundamentally since the electrical drivetrains already is a standard of it´s own on which different brands can manufacture the product that becomes what consumers experience as the car or the brand. Best example of this from CES 2020 is the concept car from SONY called SONY VISION S.
THE NEW PREMIUM!
It´s likely that we are entering a future of many cars running drivetrains on similar technical preconditions. For a premium brand like Mercedes, traditionally running on USP´s like comfort, performance and technological advantage, this means that they need to seek new ground for the brand to continue to be perceived as premium compared to it´s competition.
WHAT IS PERCEIVED AS PREMIUM IN THE FUTURE?
With VISION AVTR Mercedes want to achieve a car that blend harmoniously into its environment and also communicate with it. In the ecosystem of the future, they see ultimate luxury being the fusion between human and nature with the help of technology. The user experience Mercedes want to create is that the customer experience is the car becoming an extension of the human body and the two melt together in harmony with the surrounding nature.
IS THERE A BUSINESS CASE FOR MINIMAL FOOTPRINT?
This approach rimes well will a solid commercial concept of the future. When drivetrain tech has become a commodity and where lowest possible environmental footprint require heavy investing in RnD it will continue to stick out from the mass as the ultimate premium factor.
Together with a set of concrete environmental goals Mercedes presented their set of values for future production which are:
- Reduce
- Reuse
- Recycle
THE STATUS FACTOR OF THE FUTURE
The present factors as comfort and performance will still be valid but the main differentiating factor on top will be that their customers make the smallest environmental footprint!
Enjoy
Christian Lystrup
COO - Gorm Larsen Nordic
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