Rialto

MERCEDES-BENZ Australia/Pacific is to open Australia’s first exclusive Mercedes-AMG showroom in Sydney and plans six specialist outlets around the country.

It will also open its own concept store in Melbourne’s Rialto building in November to attract people to the brand and lifestyle options.

The move to open an AMG outlet – in the brand’s 50th year – puts Australia in rare company as the concept of splitting Mercedes-Benz and AMG products only started in January with the first in Tokyo. There have since been AMG outlets open in Munich, Hong Kong and Milan.

Australia’s prominent global role is attributed to the high sales of AMG products. It has the highest per capita sales compared with other markets, selling more than 5200 units in 2016. The sales refer to AMG vehicles, not accessory kits.

The first AMG showroom will be at the Sydney Airport Express dealership which is owned by Lei Shing Hong, with Melbourne and Brisbane showrooms – also owned by LSH – planned to be opened by the end of this year.

Mercedes-Benz Australia/Pacific (MBAP) senior manager of public relations, product and corporate communications, David McCarthy, said the stand-alone dealerships were triggered by the high sales of AMG vehicles in Australia.

He said many Mercedes-Benz dealers had floorspace allocated to AMG but this is the first time the sub-brand has taken up its own retail footprint.

Mercedes me Hong Kong

Australia represents more than five per cent of global sales – which were about 100,000 units in 2016, up 44 per cent on 2015 – but the nation’s relatively small population condensed the importance of AMG.

“There are luxury brands that don’t sell as many cars as AMG and they have a dealer network,” Mr McCarthy said.

AMG’s 5200 sales in 2016 exceeded those of Skoda (4760 sales), Porsche (4434), Mini (3765), Peugeot (3129) and Jaguar (3008).

“Year to date at the end of July, we have sold 4300 AMG vehicles,” he said.

Mercedes me Hong Kong

“So we have sold almost as many cars in the first seven months of this year as Porsche did for the entire 2016 year.

“Of the AMG products, the two most popular are the C63 sedan and C43 sedan which account for just under 1000 units in the first seven months of this year.”

Mr McCarthy also announced the opening at the end of this year of the ‘Mercedes me’ concept store that will be on the ground floor of the Rialto building at the corner of Melbourne’s King and Collins Streets.

The store, one of eight in the world and to be owned and operated by MBAP, would not be a sales outlet but would be a “concept store with display areas and as a centre to hold live events”, he said.

“It is not a showroom, but a place where we can showcase the brand.”

Mercedes me Hong Kong

It will be managed by MBAP’s Simon Johnson and has taken St Ali Coffee Roasters onboard as its hospitality partner.

Mr Johnson said Mercedes me was a great opportunity to present the brand in a unique setting where people could find out more about Mercedes-Benz, become exposed to the company’s involvements in the community, or simply meet other people and enjoy breakfast, lunch or a coffee in a great space.

“By night we see it attracting events including displays from the national gallery, fashion shows and even televise Formula One races,” he said.

“The design theme for each store is tailored to the host city. In Australia, we have chosen to centre it on Melbourne’s renowned coffee culture, so the design language of the store is along that theme.

“The location is effectively in the centre of the CBD and everyone in the area is eagerly anticipating the opening.”

By Neil Dowling