Cars On The Blog

Young Classics Store opens at the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart / Germany

Young classics from the 1970s to the 1990s can be easily rented, purchased, insured, and financed Market for spare parts with high growth potential in Europe and the USA

Stuttgart – With “Mercedes-Benz Young Classics,” Daimler AG is setting its sights on a new, promising business segment: the growing community of enthusiasts for classic cars of more recent vintage. These are passenger cars in production during the period from 1970 to around 1990. More and more of these Mercedes-Benz models have reached cult status, particularly in Europe and the United States. The demand for originality and the limited supply of well-preserved vehicles have driven the prices of vintage vehicles upward, which also applies to young classics. This means that driving pleasure can be accompanied by above-average financial returns.

With “Mercedes-Benz Young Classics,” Daimler is closing the gap between new vehicle sales and the highly specialized classic car business of the Mercedes-Benz Classic Center in Germany and the USA.

Daimler has opened the first “Mercedes-Benz Young Classics Store” as a pilot project in the Mercedes-Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Here, customers are able to purchase, rent, insure, and even finance the young classics on offer. The store offers a variety of cars dating from the 1970s onwards, all in first-class condition. Interested parties can also view the range of available young classics online at http://www.mercedes-benz.com/young-classics.

Daimler also hopes to open up interesting new growth potential in Europe and the United States by expanding the spare parts business for the classic cars made by Mercedes-Benz. In doing so, Daimler is meeting the demand of classic car enthusiasts for original spare parts, while also expanding the current product range.

Young classics are vehicles between 15 and 30 years old. According to Germany’s Federal Office for Motor Vehicles, the market in Germany for young classics comprises approximately 6.6 million automobiles, 1 million of which are Mercedes-Benz cars, representing a market share of 15.6 percent.

Surveys by FIVA and Dekra show that around 60 percent of all owners of Mercedes-Benz young classics are between 21 and 50 years of age. Only 20 percent of them use those cars as their main vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz Young Classics is supported by the Business Innovation unit. The aim of the Business Innovation Team is to explore growth opportunities along the entire value chain. The focus is on unexploited potential within the company, as well as new business ideas relating to the current core business. Mercedes-Benz Young Classics demonstrates the breadth of the opportunities that exist for translating inherent strengths into additional, profitable growth.

Mercedes-Benz Young Classics will be presenting its product line at the Techno-Classica trade fair in Essen (April 1-5, 2009), the world’s largest fair for classic cars.

Further information on Daimler is available on the Internet: www.media.daimler.com

About Daimler

Daimler AG, Stuttgart, with its businesses Mercedes-Benz Cars, Daimler Trucks, Daimler Financial Services, Mercedes-Benz Vans and Daimler Buses, is a globally leading producer of premium passenger cars and the largest manufacturer of heavy- and medium-duty trucks in the world. The Daimler Financial Services division has a broad offering of financial services, including vehicle financing, leasing, insurance and fleet management. Daimler sells its products in nearly all the countries of the world and has production facilities on five continents. The company’s founders, Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz, continued to make automotive history following their invention of the automobile in 1886. As an automotive pioneer, Daimler and its employees willingly accept an obligation to act responsibly towards society and the environment and to shape the future of safe and sustainable mobility with groundbreaking technologies and high-quality products. The current brand portfolio includes the world’s most valuable automobile brand, Mercedes-Benz, as well as smart, AMG, Maybach, Freightliner, Sterling, Western Star, Mitsubishi Fuso, Setra, Orion and Thomas Built Buses. The company is listed on the stock exchanges in Frankfurt, New York and Stuttgart (stock exchange abbreviation DAI). In 2008, the Group sold 2.1 million vehicles and employed a workforce of over 270,000 people; revenue totaled €95.9 billion and EBIT amounted to €2.7 billion. Daimler is an automotive Group with a commitment to excellence, and aims to achieve sustainable growth and industry-leading profitability.