The discount battle between Mercedes-Benz and BMW, which accounts for a significant portion of the imported car market in Korea, is intensifying.
BMW was the first to launch discount promotions. In January and February, BMW held extensive promotions, offering major models like the 530e and 523d at a low interest rate of 1.9%. In February, they sold the 520i and 523d with 36 months of zero interest financing.
As of January 26 this year, BMW Finance’s installment rate was 10.99%. For the 523d xDrive M Sport priced at 80.3 million won, applying the 36-month zero-interest plan results in a discount of 8,824,970 won. Thanks to such promotions, the 5 Series (excluding M5) recorded sales of 4,556 units in just two months since the start of the new year, representing a market share of 36% out of a total of 12,470 units sold cumulatively.
To close the sales gap with BMW, Mercedes-Benz also began a discount campaign starting in March. They launched a cash discount promotion of over 10 million won for the E350 4MATIC Exclusive model, which is priced at 90.5 million won. A basic discount of 11 million won applies, and with a trade-in program, up to 14 million won can be deducted. Even with the basic discount, the price of the 90 million won vehicle drops significantly to around 70 million won, near the entry-level price of the domestic luxury sedan G80.
An employee at a Benz showroom mentioned, “Due to the discount promotion for the E-Class, customer inquiries have surged and all vehicle stock sold out within a week.” Even though high interest rates and a tightened financial market have caused wealthy individuals to restrict their spending, the news of E-Class discounts led to quick sales, surprising the employee. With E-Class discount sales, Mercedes-Benz officials are optimistic about surpassing BMW in sales this month.
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr