According to Carscoops, Mercedes-Benz sedans have long been a familiar sight for taxi drivers in Europe. However, in recent years, this has been changing rapidly, as Mercedes’ dominance in the taxi market here has gradually weakened.
In Germany - where this famous luxury car brand was born - the number of cars sold to transport services (generally called taxis) by Mercedes decreased by 71% in the period from January 2024 to August 2024, reaching only 497 units compared to the sales of 1,730 cars in the same period last year.
Of the total 497 Mercedes vehicles sold to the above taxi service, there were 127 E-Class vehicles (down 90%) and only one B-Class, down 95% compared to the first 8 months of 2023. It is known that the Vito Tourer minivan line is the only name of the Mercedes brand that maintains stable sales in the taxi/service vehicle segment.
Previously, Mercedes' market share in the taxi segment in Germany had dropped from 52% in 2019 to 38% in 2023. Current data predicts that the luxury carmaker's market share in Germany will drop to just 13% as more and more taxi companies skip Mercedes and choose other brands.
Volkswagen is currently the market leader in Germany’s taxi market, largely thanks to the success of its minivans such as the Touran and Caddy. In fact, Japanese automaker Toyota is also selling more cars to taxi services than Mercedes, thanks to special editions of the Corolla and RAV4.
Mr. Ola Källenius - CEO of Mercedes-Benz Group announced that in 2023, the company will stop providing car models specifically changed for taxi services, and stop special incentives for taxi companies.
A Mercedes executive also told Handelsblatt that the taxi service “does not fit the company’s luxury standards,” and stressed that competitors like BMW and Audi are not interested in this business segment.
According to Carscoops, the main factor for Mercedes' change in strategy lies in the size of the taxi market in Germany. Only about 6,000-7,000 new taxis are registered annually in this country. This number can be said to be quite modest when compared to the total sales of 2.8 million passenger cars each year in Germany.
Mercedes will continue to offer limousines based on the E-Class, but the conversion process to taxis will be handled by third parties.
While taxis can be a way for car brands to increase sales by creating an experience for customers, it seems Mercedes no longer sees the potential in this strategy.
