Mercedes 1999 Annual Report Download - page 11

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 11 of the 1999 Mercedes annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

Page out of 126

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126

CHAIRMEN’S LETTER
5
At the same time, the way we sell our vehicles and serve
our customers will also be transformed. And the Internet
will play a huge part in these changes.
In this highly competitive market place, quality and speed-
to-market have been reduced to entry-level requirements.
We will be delivering profitable growth and value-added to
our shareholders by exploiting the power and fascination
that our brands represent in the market, and leveraging to
the hilt our technological and design superiority.
WHAT WE MEAN BY BRAND LEADERSHIP
– AND WHAT BRAND LEADERSHIP WILL MEAN
FOR OUR CUSTOMERS
We are once again redefining what represents the greatest
value for our customers. And, in partnership with our
suppliers, we are reconfiguring our business to deliver more
of this value in our chosen market segments. Succeeding in
this means we can raise customer expectations beyond the
reach of our competitors. It’s that simple.
Our portfolio of brands and products, and our record of
innovation, are unmatched. We have 60 new models in the
pipeline. We lead in the luxury car segments. We defined
the minivan, and will continue to do so. We now lead in
SUVs, and outside Asia we are dominant in heavy trucks all
over the world.
Through our technological leadership we gave the auto-
motive industry the airbag, ABS braking, and our unique
electronic stability technology. We lead again now with
Active Body Control, drive-by-wire, and the fuel cell – to
name a few. No other company has done more to lead and
shape this industry.
And it’s not just the big, leading-edge developments that
count; there are also the many smaller ideas that together
make a big difference. Last year alone, we registered 2,000
patents and introduced 85 major new developments into our
passenger and commercial vehicles.
What’s more, of the 500 projects currently under way in our
Research & Technology division, more than half will in the
near future find their way into two or more of our business
units. In other words, the cutting edge has become our
stock-in-trade, and a powerful part of our competitive
advantage.
But product and technology leadership is not enough. For
us the vehicle of tomorrow has become both entry point and
centerpiece in a customer experience that begins with
exhilarating choice and fascinating automotive features.
That continues with the fun of driving. And endures through
faultless service across an ever-widening range of customer
needs, all met by a service network totally dedicated to
customer support.
We intend to make that moment of first contact with our
customers the beginning of a total relationship. We have to
understand them completely. We have to get them excited.
Offer them real choice. Solve their problems. Give them fast,
hassle-free backup and service. Always be there for them –
on the phone, on the Net, on the floor of the dealership –
wherever and whenever they need us. Give them the best.