Daimler AG Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche isn't just pulling for Germany's soccer team when it takes the field for the World Cup. He's also betting on a victory for his Mercedes-Benz luxury brand.
Zetsche is rolling out discounts and cut-rate financing packages in Germany as part of its most extensive promotion in 20 years for soccer's biggest event, while competitors Bayerische Motoren Werke AG and Volkswagen AG's Audi balk at tournament-specific incentives.
A discount of as much as 2,050 euros ($2,493) is available on the 38,000-euro SLK roadster, and the savings rise if Germany wins the competition, which kicks off June 11 in South Africa. The deals reflect the carmaker's need to broaden its appeal, whose drivers are about a decade older than Audi and BMW owners, according to market researcher Sinus Sociovision.
"Mercedes has the image of a senior citizen's car," Boris Schaefer, a 40-year-old sales executive who owns a BMW X3 SUV and isn't currently considering a Mercedes, said in an interview at his Berlin home. "I wouldn't feel that I would support the German team any more by driving a Mercedes."
Stuttgart, Germany-based carmaker's 2010 campaign involves traditional advertisements as well as online, print, and television media cooperation agreements, spokesman David Biebricher said. Germany hasn't won the World Cup since 1990, the year Mercedes began sponsoring the team.
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