Amid bribery scandals, Beijing Benz car sales drop in July

Shanghai. August 24 (Gasgoo.com) - A sales manager of Beijing Benz was accused of asking for kick-backs from advertising agencies and media, according to a Chinese media report.

"I have not heard of this," sadi Dong Changzhen, vice president of Beijing Benz said. "But it is a good thing to have us under social supervision."

Another senior official, Ding Wen, the marketing manager of Beijing Benz, declined to make comments on this scandal.

Though Beijing Benz has not made any official statement on this scandal, Benz sales record dropped significantly in July.

Sales records show that China-made Benz sold 559 units in July, a decrease of 200 units compared to June. The Benz E230, which was launched at the beginning of July, sold only 171 units.

In E series, E230 and E280 are two similar models in the same segment. In order to boost the sales of E230, Beijing Benz increased the price of E280 to 618,000 yuan ($82,000). The however, the sales of E280 dropped substantially, sold about 300 units in July.

The president of Beijing Benz noticed that the company will make further steps to rev up the sales network and boost the sales across the country.

Beijing Benz sold 3,664 units in the first seven months: 2.0L displacement vehicles sold 812 units and 3.0L displacement vehicle sold 2,884 units.

It is unlikely that Beijing Benz could reach its annual sales target of 6,000 units, which means it will fall far behind its closest competitor BMW in the premium market, according to auto experts.