Mercedes-Benz expands fleet customers

Besides achievements in attracting individual customers, Mercedes-Benz Vietnam (MBV) has been very successful with its fleet business in Vietnam. The manufacturer of luxury vehicles has gained numerous deals for supplying fleets of cars to five-star hotels, luxury resorts, and large corporate groups, and is targeting schools and education organizations these days.

MBV says schools and educational organizations are potential fleet customers that it can offer complete packages in terms of special pricing, financial solutions, regeneration of used fleets, long-term rental, insurance and service solutions, among others.

The company’s efforts are paying off well. Last month alone, MBV handed over two big fleets to Singapore International School and InterContinental Hanoi Westlake with the combined value of more than VND15 billion.

For Singapore International School, a trademark of KinderWorld Education Group, MBV together with its authorized dealer Vietnam Star last week handed over a fleet of Sprinter minibuses. The fleet, worth over VND6 billion and including seven Sprinter minibuses, will be used as school buses both in HCMC and Hanoi.

The fleet to KinderWorld is the new generation 16-seat Sprinter 311 which is said to be the best and the safest mini-bus in Vietnam, according to the company. The new mini-bus, exclusively in the segment, is equipped with “Electronic Stability Program” safety function, in addition to the entertainment system CD/MP3/Radio with the latest-updated USB connection for easier music access.

According to Carol Tan, executive director of KinderWorld Education Group, which has 15 campuses across Vietnam, the purchase of new Sprinter minibuses from Mercedes-Benz is to upgrade the school logistic resources in order to better cater to their students for the new school year and meet the increasing enrollments at their campuses.

Dr. Udo Loersch, general director of Mercedes-Benz Vietnam, said: “Together with luxury hotels and corporate customers, schools and education organizations are also our valuable fleet customers that we would like to focus on with our exclusive 360 degree solution. Sprinter is the only mini-bus with Electronic Stability Program (ESP) in the segment, offering students and kids the best comfortable seating with highest safety on the road and meeting the standards of premier schools from KinderWorld.”

The 360 degree solution for fleet customers mentioned above by the automaker’s CEO includes Techcombank finance support, Liberty insurance and comprehensive after-sale care. This solution package helps enhance the reliability of the Mercedes-Benz car that offers premium service not only for VIP guest transportation and commercial but also proves itself as the social safety vehicle with environmental responsibility.

Besides the deal to supply 16-seat minibuses to KinderWorld, MBV last month together with its authorized dealer Vietnam Star Hanoi also handed over a fleet of four premium E-class saloons worth over US$400,000 to InterContinental Hanoi Westlake. With this top fleet including four latest-generation E300 Elegance managed by Red River Company, InterContinental Hanoi Westlake is among the pioneers in the hospitality industry in the north to have the best and the biggest number of top luxury Mercedes-Benz business saloons for their high-class transportation service.

With the new fleet, InterContinental Hanoi Westlake introduces the new conveyance service as a complimentary amenity to guests staying at the hotel. Mercedes-Benz premium saloons are used not only to enhance the VIP experience, but also reflect the legendary charming accommodations, facilities and attentive hospitality of the lakeside five-star hotel.

The Inter-Continental Hanoi Westlake has been a loyal customer of Mercedes-Benz so far. Before this fleet, the hotel was using the previous generation E-Class E280 for several years.

“We are proud to continue to raise the benchmark of Hanoi’s hospitality services and are now being able to offer all our guests the in-car hot-spot which certainly will enhance the InterContinental Hanoi Westlake experience,” said Adam McDonald, general manager of InterContinental Hanoi Westlake.

Dr. Loersch said that the new generation top business sedan E-Class would definitely continue to reinforce the top position of the hotel in the hospitality industry in Vietnam. Especially, all the four Mercedes-Benz E-Class sedans of InterContinental Hanoi Westlake are installed with in-car Hotspot, which makes it available for passengers to use internet and email wirelessly and fast on the road, according to MBV.

The E-Class is the top luxury saloon meeting high-level requirements of InterContinental Hanoi Westlake. It comes with state-of-the-art safety assistance systems and convenience equipments, such as attention assist, parking guidance, adaptive high-beam assist, thermotronic, rear-seat entertainment system, and panoramic sunroof.

According to MBV, 80% of 5-star hotels in Vietnam use premium three-pointed star saloons and vans for VIP guest transportation, such as InterContinental, Park Hyatt, Caravelle, Sofitel, New World, Windsor, and Vinpearl Luxury, among others.

Many transportation companies also utilize Mercedes vehicles to do business, such as DHL and Fedex with big fleets of Sprinter Panel Van for cargo delivery, and Toan Thang or Hoa Mai as passenger transportation enterprises with a fleet of nearly 100 units of the mini-bus Sprinter.

In the commercial sphere, Trung Nguyen asserts its ranking when buying a super sport car SLS AMG for their nationwide marketing campaigns. The company also owns mobile coffee selling vans customized from Sprinter Panel Van.

Regarding the 360 degree solution, MBV says corporate owners also enjoy other comprehensive services including 24h emergency service, genuine part installment, full warranty policy, maintenance package and courtesy cars as well as nationwide sales and service network.

The company in the first eight months achieved total sales volume of 1,725 units, including 1,300 passenger cars, a year-on-year increase of 27%.