Mercedes overtakes BMW as king of Israel's luxury car market

[FISH]

By JOHN BENZAQUEN
Feb. 8, 2006 7:20

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull

The high end of the luxury car market, or cars with a price tag that exceeds NIS 250,000, is very small indeed, amounting to just slightly more than 2 percent of all vehicles sold in Israel.

Indeed, only 3,400 such cars were sold in 2005 and the company that brought in the highest number of sales last year was Mercedes, with 903 cars. BMW came second with the sale of 820 luxury vehicles.

Traditionally, in this upscale market, Mercedes and BMW rank first and second, while other top-of-the-line car manufacturers fall far behind. In 2005, for example, Volvo sold 392 cars; Jaguar 72; and Porsche a mere 31.

This situation is rather perplexing, as it goes against global trends.

In 2005, BMW sold more luxury cars worldwide than any other auto maker in the world, yet Mercedes managed to win the top slot in the very high end of the market in Israel. This was due mainly to an aggressive sales strategy and a well-financed publicity campaign.

According to figures published by Yiphet, a company that monitors media ads, Mercedes spent NIS 7.7 million on its publicity campaign in 2005 compared to NIS 3.8 million in 2004. If you calculate the amount of money spent on publicity in relation to the number of cars sold, the resulting figure is NIS 8,500 per car.

In addition, Mercedes approached the market using a very aggressive pricing strategy. The less expensive Series C Mercedes costs NIS 264,000, compared to NIS 295,000 for the BMW Series 3 cars. In the more expensive executive type cars, Mercedes sold its E-280 3 liter model for NIS 450,000 compared to NIS 495,000 for the BMW 530 3.0 liter model.

There was also a large price differential in the SUV type. Mercedes sold its new ML350 for NIS 509,000 compared to NIS 540,000 for the veteran BMW X5 model.

[Bravada]

Now that's a surprise - I thought it was always like this. The Mercedes just fits my stereotypic image of the Israel and Middle Eastern automotive scene than the BMW. Too bad Mercedes had to go below BMW with pricing to achieve that - I would say it's a milestone for BMW.

[mbukukanyau]

Do they Sell Cadillac there?

[T-Type]

What I find surprising is that the number one and two companies are German. I've heard that many Jews still hold a grudge against Germans products because of the Holocaust. I would have guessed that someone like Lexus would have been number one.

[2648562]

Originally Posted by T-Type

What I find surprising is that the number one and two companies are German. I've heard that many Jews still hold a grudge against Germans products because of the Holocaust. I would have guessed that someone like Lexus would have been number one.

That's the first thing I thought. I know I would hold a grudge.

[SobeSVT]

They know what is best. When the former dictator of Nicaragua Tachito Somoza was bazooked to death in Paraguay. Somoza's Mercedes engine kept running and the lady sitting next to him survived. He should have gotten the armoured one.

[mgescuro]

Originally Posted by mbukukanyau

Do they Sell Cadillac there?

I think there are limited numbers of Cadillacs sold in teh Middle East area... certainly not on teh scale of Mercedes or BMW.

[ocmdog]

Yes, they do sell Cadillacs there. They sell the 2005 CTS.

http://www.umi.co.il/site/mainpage.asp?pi=30&di=0

[CarShark]

Originally Posted by ocmdog

Yes, they do sell Cadillacs there. They sell the 2005 CTS.

When I clicked onto your link, a popup ad showed the new STS, so I'm guessing that'll be car number two.

[Bravada]

They sell Cadillacs there, but what is more important, they sell Buicks there too! Israel is the only country in the wolrd that's not in North America and not China where you can get a Buick. I guess they have to be big with the Jewish buyers if GM went to such lenghts to get them there.

As concerns Lexus, I remember I was once told by an insider of the American automotive market that it's the Jews who fuelled Lexus' growth - they consitute a major group of Lexus customers. Perhaps the Jewish buyers were Buick fans once and switched to Lexus when Lexus started doing Buick's job better...

Somoza's Mercedes was a W116 from what I see - one of the last really sturdy Mercedes. This and the "Barrel" (W123) can do 2 million kilometers without much problems and probably fall of a cliff without hurting the people inside too much (provided they wear seatbelts). The later Mercedes' weren't that sturdy.

Nevertheless, Somoza probably DID have an armoured Mercedes, but even an armoured car can do little when a bazooke missile hits the greenhouse.

PS. Sorry, I babelfished the story and it wasn't armoured. Nevertheless, they bazooked it just in case it was, which indicates Somoza would probably stand little chance either way.

[BobLikesBunnies]

Glad to hear the new BMW's for the most part make me sick to my stomach. Didnt Mercedes help to make the gas chambers in Nazi Germany???? Ironic I do know they used slave labor though

[Bravada]

Bob, and you know the origins of VW, don't you?

[BobLikesBunnies]

Orgins of VW oh yeah I know

[DanCBJMS1988]

How's this for a shocker. In addition to UMI (which sells Opels, Chevrolets (including the Malibu), the Buick LaCrosse, and other GM products), Fords and Mazdas are sold in Israel through Delek - one of Israel's largest gas companies!!

http://www.ford.co.il
http://www.mazda.co.il

Here are other companies represented in Medinat Y'israel:

http://www.skoda.co.il/app/homepage.asp?fd=1
http://www.seat.co.il/
http://www.renault.co.il/
http://www.nissan.co.il/
http://www.lubinski.co.il/
http://www.mitsubishi-israel.co.il/
http://www.rover.co.il/ (don't be confused, it's really a Land Rover site)
http://israel.kia-global.com/
http://www.jaguar.co.il/
http://www.bmw.co.il/
http://www.honda.co.il/
http://www.colmobil.co.il/
http://www.audi.co.il/index.asp
http://www.alfaromeo.co.il/
http://www.subaru.co.il/index.asp
http://www.suzuki.co.il/slink.html#
http://www.volvocars.co.il/
http://www.toyota.co.il
http://www.vw.co.il/index.asp#
http://www.fiat.co.il/

As for background:
http://www.goisrael.co.il/cars.htm
http://www.vehiclesnet.org.il/catalo...ent.htm#scene2
http://www.vehiclesnet.org.il/
http://econwpa.wustl.edu:8089/eps/it...11/9511001.pdf
http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index....raelindexf.htm
http://www.viewswire.com/index.asp?l...title=Profiles
http://www.viewswire.com/index.asp?l...title=Forecast
http://www.industry.org.il/Eng/SubIn...CategoryID=128

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