Mercedes star twinkles once moreThe

Mercedes star twinkles once moreThe Mercedes star is gleaming again. Three years ago it suffered as dramatic a fall as any luxury brand could, as it reported its first losses for nearly two decades and saw its quality slip so far that newspapers were full of stories of cars that kept on breaking down.“Mercedes should not make losses. That is absolutely clear,” says Dieter Zetsche, who became head of Mercedes in September 2005 and chief executive of its parent company, Daimler, three months later. “But we have great results now and we are starting to change the culture in many ways.”Indeed, so much has Mercedes changed that in three years it has gone from the worst-performing of the large luxury carmakers to the trailblazer. Rivals at its bigger-selling rival BMW look enviously at its 9.1 per cent return on sales last year (and even more so on the 10.4 per cent it made in the fourth quarter – compared with BMW’s 5.4 per cent in the third quarter).Much of that turnaround is due to Mr Zetsche, famous for his walrus moustache. He was not the first automotive executive to take on two jobs but he has been one of the most successful with it, using his operational experience at Mercedes to help him at Daimler, which also makes trucks, vans and buses as well as having a large stake in EADS, the aerospace group. Mr Zetsche says that combining roles is essential for his management style: “It makes more sense than ever now. If there was any time when it was a stretch then it was at the beginning. I can be a better Daimler CEO by knowing in depth about Mercedes’ business.” But he is keen to stress that it is a team approach, underlining how the corporate in-fighting of old has disappeared and describing as “nonsense” reports suggesting Mercedes is just a one-man show.Mr Zetsche was hard from the outset, cutting 14,500 jobs – 8,500 in production and 6,000 administrative staff. That broke the pattern of Mercedes providing a job for life to workers. But it had a dramatic effect on the bottom line and it is noteworthy that BMW is following suit three years later as it seeks to claw its way back in the profitability race. Mr Zetsche says: “Productivity gains don’t get you anything if you don’t reduce personnel.”Mercedes’ recent success is also linked to a big improvement in its product quality and the launch of some well-praised models, headed by the new C-Class saloon.“Mercedes is building cars that people want to buy again and, for once, they even look better than BMWs,” says one London-based analyst.The debate on reducing carbon dioxide emissions could hit Mercedes hard. But the company, for now, is choosing to highlight the launch of 20 fuel-efficient models this year.All of this has put a spring back in the step of a company that in Mr Zetsche’s words also acts a “mirror on German society”. It has also restored lustre to Mr Zetsche’s star, which was tarnished by the poor performance of Chrysler, the US carmaker that was owned by Daimler

Hasil (Armenia) 1:

Mercedes star twinkles once more
The Mercedes star is gleaming again. Three years ago it suffered as dramatic a fall as any luxury brand could, as it reported its first losses for nearly two decades and saw its quality slip so far that newspapers were full of stories of cars that kept on breaking down.
“Mercedes should not make losses. That is absolutely clear,” says Dieter Zetsche, who became head of Mercedes in September 2005 and chief executive of its parent company, Daimler, three months later. “But we have great results now and we are starting to change the culture in many ways.”
Indeed, so much has Mercedes changed that in three years it has gone from the worst-performing of the large luxury carmakers to the trailblazer. Rivals at its bigger-selling rival BMW look enviously at its 9.1 per cent return on sales last year (and even more so on the 10.4 per cent it made in the fourth quarter – compared with BMW’s 5.4 per cent in the third quarter).
Much of that turnaround is due to Mr Zetsche, famous for his walrus moustache. He was not the first automotive executive to take on two jobs but he has been one of the most successful with it, using his operational experience at Mercedes to help him at Daimler, which also makes trucks, vans and buses as well as having a large stake in EADS, the aerospace group. Mr Zetsche says that combining roles is essential for his management style: “It makes more sense than ever now. If there was any time when it was a stretch then it was at the beginning. I can be a better Daimler CEO by knowing in depth about Mercedes’ business.” But he is keen to stress that it is a team approach, underlining how the corporate in-fighting of old has disappeared and describing as “nonsense” reports suggesting Mercedes is just a one-man show.
Mr Zetsche was hard from the outset, cutting 14,500 jobs – 8,500 in production and 6,000 administrative staff. That broke the pattern of Mercedes providing a job for life to workers. But it had a dramatic effect on the bottom line and it is noteworthy that BMW is following suit three years later as it seeks to claw its way back in the profitability race. Mr Zetsche says: “Productivity gains don’t get you anything if you don’t reduce personnel.”
Mercedes’ recent success is also linked to a big improvement in its product quality and the launch of some well-praised models, headed by the new C-Class saloon.
“Mercedes is building cars that people want to buy again and, for once, they even look better than BMWs,” says one London-based analyst.
Ծավալված բանավեճին ածխածնի երկօքսիդի արտանետումների նվազեցման Mercedes կարող է հարվածել դժվար է. Սակայն ընկերությունը, հիմա, որը Ընտրելով է կարեւորում մեկնարկի 20 վառելիքի արդյունավետ մոդելների այս տարի:
Այս ամենը դրել է գարնանային ետ է քայլ մի ընկերության, որը պարոն Ցետշի խոսքերով է հանդես գալիս նաեւ «հայելու վրա գերմանական հասարակության»: Այն վերականգնել ՆԱԵՎ շուք պարոն Ցետշի ի աստղը, որը խաթարվեց կողմից վատ կատարման Chrysler- ը, ԱՄՆ-carmaker Դա էր, որը պատկանում է Daimler