In turn, LSH has taken 15 per cent of Daimler, effectively linking the two companies together and creating a direct link between manufacturer and retailer.
KPMG’s Steve Bragg said this formula was a long-term trend that he expects to be rolled out over the next 10-20 years.
“The Mercedes partnership with LSH is on a global scale,” he said.
“LSH has Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne Mercedes dealerships but globally, it has about half of those in China, and a lot in Europe. Then this year, it bought cross shareholdings with Mercedes’ parent Daimler.
“Partnering of large OEMs is a long-term trend. That’s the key. That’s what everyone is trying to do. In the future, everyone is looking to become, say, the BMW dealer of Australia.
“They are trying to get to a scale that allows them to be competitive.”
Daimler said of the cross shareholding that it was “strategically important for both parties”, with the aim of bringing one of the world’s biggest dealer groups for Mercedes-Benz cars “to a new era and to other markets”.
LSH has a total of 192 Mercedes-Benz dealerships around the world, including 60 in the UK, 40 in Germany and four in Australia. It also has outlets in China and South Korea.
By Neil Dowling
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