The coronavirus crisis has helped breathe new life into the automotive industry, according to Krishan Bodhani – vice president and director of sales & marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars Middle East.
He said consumer psychology has led to an increase in popularity of private transport as a preferred method of travel to avoid catching the virus.
Bodhani told Arabian Business that, at the height of the pandemic in last March and April, business was at “rock bottom”, although he stressed that the second half of 2020 was “good” for the company, both in the Middle East and in other markets across the world.
Without giving figures, he said: “We finished the year strong, considering, and now all the energy and focus is around 2021.”
And that push into this year has been helped, he said, by a renewed confidence in private transport, as consumers look for the safest way possible to travel in the current climate.
Krishan Bodhani – vice president and director of sales & marketing at Mercedes-Benz Cars Middle East
He explained: “I think now, what Covid has done, is it’s made people realise the importance of personal, private space. I’m not saying that’s the reason why we’ve seen some level of increase because I think people were always going to purchase their car, it was just latent demand in terms of people putting a pause to their purchasing journey because it was all a bit strange.
“We saw an uptick later, but I think generally, maybe with this pandemic, I think people are going to be much more conscious about their personal space and the fact that owning a vehicle and getting somewhere in the comfort of their own space, is a better solution than getting on a bus or a train or getting in an Uber.”
According to a report last year from YallaMotor, the economic uncertainty resulted in 64.5 percent of GCC car buyers stalling their decision to purchase a car, while 74 percent of those surveyed stated that an attractive financial agreement was the main factor when deciding to buy a new vehicle.
Bodhani admitted that it was up to the industry, which he described as “quite archaic”, to adapt to the changes in consumer behaviour and follow other sectors in incorporating a greater digital presence to their offering. In December, Mercedes launched its online e-commerce website.
He said: “I think I say this with the greatest of ease, that generally the automotive industry is quite archaic when it comes to digitalisation. It’s something which I observe, it’s my own personal opinion. You look at it and when you think of other industries and other retail industries, when it comes to digitalisation and actually appeasing your business model to customer demand, we’re quite far back.
“I think what Covid has done is it’s accelerated that thinking, it’s accelerated that viewpoint; it’s allowed us and our general distributors to conduct business in a very different way, be agile, be much more virtual and digital, to our customers.”
Mercedes enjoyed a busy end to the year, with no less than six launches, including the GLB, GLA, E-Class Family (Sedan, Coupé and Cabriolet), Mercedes-Maybach GLS, EQC and S-Class.
Due to the coronavirus restrictions, for the first time ever, the Mercedes S Class, which Bodhani described as the “halo” of the German car manufacturer’s extensive portfolio, was launched globally online, with customer deliveries of the new car in this region taking place this month.
While he did not envisage an end to the traditional bricks-and-mortar car showrooms, he believed the industry must adopt a blended approach moving forward.
“We know that 95 percent of customers now do all their stuff online, when it comes to research, when it comes to viewing a vehicle. Customers are now so much more informed before they even go into a showroom than they were ten years ago because they are blessed with so much information.
“I do think customers, if they want a vehicle, if they’re becoming so much more informed, then they will use the means for convenience to reserve or book or order a vehicle online. It has to be like that,” he said.
“It’s changed, but I do think it has to be a blended experience. I don’t think we’re going to just migrate from one to another. I don’t think it’s as black and white as that. There’s got to be a level of experience, of the tangible piece where a customer goes in or the car gets delivered to the house, but it’s a blended experience that the customer will have.”
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