Having doubled volume in the last four years, Mercedes Benz Malaysia is still bullish for future growth, said its vice-president for sales and marketing Mark Raine.
“I am very optimistic. All the bases are in order to further grow our business and at the end of the day, try to make our customers as happy as possible,” Raine said at an interview with Cars, Bikes and Trucks (CBT).
The company has new products in the pipeline and investments in the local production and the dealer networks, to enhance service and experience for the customers.
Raine added that the team in Malaysia has a focus on delivering good work and looking after its customers.
“Stopping or growing complacent will be the start of the end. We always have to remain hungry and challenge ourselves in a constructive way on how we can become better,” said Raine.
Raine added that having to grow the company and at the same time give top service to customers was his biggest challenge.
“We didn’t want to compromise quality with quantity,” Raine said. “With such a substantial jump in volume, we need to ensure that we can live up to the expectation of what the customers want.”
“We nearly doubled our volume with 90 per cent growth over the four years and have more than doubled our market share. It’s the effort of the entire team which has done an excellent job,” said Raine.
Raine said the healthy total industry volume (TIV) for Malaysia is about 530,000 to 550,000 units.
“It is a digestible number for the Malaysian market. For me, just finding the sweet sport of the market and providing the right kind of solutions, will keep the market running,” Raine said.
Raine, who has been with Mercedes-Benz Malaysia for the last four years, is slated to take on a new role in Korea in July, one which he says has its own set of challenges.
“I think Korea is a very complex market and there are many different challenges, which are different to Malaysia or any other country,” said Raine.
He said the company sold over 70,000 units in Korea last year.
“I want to continue what they have been doing and it’s been extremely successful over the years. Then we will see how to strengthen the brand, refine the product portfolio, increase the customers’ experience and take it from there,” he said.
The local food, people and culture are something that Raine will miss when he leaves the country.
“What I love about Malaysia is how the people get along with each other, live side by side with each other in a very integrated community.
“I love my Malaysian food. I love staying in Malaysia as a destination, and exploring the country, especially the unique and exquisite cuisines,” said Raine.
