A new love story started! Mercedes and Renault. Two big car companies in different segments. Renault and Mercedes nearly do not have competitor vehicles. Yes, Mercedes A and B Class can be considered for some of the Renault cars but their marketing strategies are not targeting each other. So they are doing in the same business but in different universes.Mercedes is very good at doing big car like S Class, E Class, GL Class and many more and rubbish at small ones! A and B Class are very good examples. I am not criticizing Mercedes for this failure because their experience is on different types of cars and that’s normal to fail in small cars. The story is same for Renault also. Renault is very good at small cars for long years; Clio, Megane, Twingo but rubbish at big ones VelSatis, Safrane! So, it is pointless for Renault to compete in luxury segments because nobody will buy one. Actually some people are buying but they might be owning Renault dealer. However, Mercedes wants to increase make A Class and Smart more competitive. In current condition, they are not!
In 2013, we will see half Renault half Mercedes cars like Smart and A Class and as usual, Mercedes will expand its Smart range with the help of Renault. I really wonder how Mercedes is doing to develop cars with Renault which is still cannot manage to manufacture a car without vibrating gear lever! Yes, every French cars unsolved problem, vibrating gear lever. I am pretty sure that, this problem with persist in Mercedes-Renault cars.
Pictures are taken from;
Mercedes and Renault Websites