Shanghai, January 19 (Gasgoo.com) Daimler AG's luxury brand Mercedes-Benz said on Sunday that it knew nothing about reported complaints by Chinese car-dealers that Mercedes was discriminating against independent dealers in China, Reuters said.
In its Jan. 18 issue, the Wirtschaftswoche business weekly reported that the China Automobile Dealers Association (CADA) was raising the complaints and pressing for the temporary withdrawal of import licenses for Mercedes.
"We have no information regarding such irregularities," said a Daimler spokesman. "Up to now we have not been contacted by CADA or anybody from the dealers' side." He added that Daimler will always support all its dealers in China, including those in the eastern city of Hangzhou.
Daimler's most important distribution partner in China is Hong Kong company Lei Shing Hong (LSH), which operates about half of the 120 Mercedes dealerships in China. Recently, after its offer to acquire 60% of an independent dealer in downtown Hangzhou was declined, the company opened a store nearby and reportedly forced the dealer to move out to a suburb, with a threat of dealership cancellation.
The Wirtschaftswoche story said the Chinese association was preparing complaints to the nation's top economic planner and trade authorities with view to prohibiting further expansion of Mercedes dealer networks and suspending the German's brand import license.
China is one of Mercedes' most important overseas markets. The carmaker sold a record 68,500 cars in the Chinese market last year, up 77%. Sales were boosted by locally produced C-Class cars.
