"Chinese takeover specter" haunts Mercedes: Kretschmann and Källenius speak power words
Created: 2022-06-09 15:52
By: Nadja Pohr
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (left) and Mercedes board member Ola Källenius see no reason to worry about a Mercedes takeover by China.
© IMAGO/Arnulf Hettrich
Two of Mercedes-Benz's largest shareholders are from China.
However, Winfried Kretschmann and Mercedes boss Ola Källenius do not fear a takeover.
Stuttgart - On May 19, the Swabian car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz presented its new strategy for the future.
In the future, the carmaker wants to focus even more on luxury and focus on the brand's high-priced models.
In an exclusive interview with
BW24
, Mercedes strategy chief Carolin Strauß explained the enormous potential of the luxury strategy.
Criticism of the new orientation of the traditional company came primarily from Baden-Württemberg's Minister of Transport, Winfried Hermann (Greens), who described it as an invitation for Asian manufacturers.
In general, experts fear that China could increasingly expand its influence in Europe through investments and infrastructure projects and start taking over Mercedes-Benz.
Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann (Greens) and Mercedes board member Ola Källenius are now putting a stop to this project.
Mercedes-Benz: Winfried Kretschmann and Ola Källenius dispel the "Chinese takeover specter"
The scenario of a Mercedes takeover by China is not out of thin air.
The two largest shareholders of the company from Stuttgart, the BAIC Motor Group and the investment company Tenaciou3, come from China.
If these continue to increase, problems could arise at Mercedes.
However, Ola Källenius is certain that it will not come to that.
"We have very good and strong relationships with our investors," he said in a double interview with Winfried Kretschmann to the
Handelsblatt
.
Even the Prime Minister is not worried that the traditional company from Baden-Württemberg could be transferred to China.
"We wouldn't let that happen," he promised.
"We will certainly not make a mistake similar to that made by the robot manufacturer Kuka," said Kretschmann.
The company from Augsburg was taken over by a Chinese household appliance group six years ago.
After this case, the foreign trade law in Germany was tightened, which is why there is no need to worry, explained the prime minister.
The expert Marc Tüngler, general manager of the German Association for the Protection of Securities (DSW), was pleased with the clear announcement.
"The big Chinese takeover specter has been driven out of the Mercedes castle for the time being," he said.
China remains an important market for Mercedes-Benz
In recent years, Mercedes-Benz has outsourced its production to the Far East.
Among other things, a new electric Smart will soon be produced in Beijing.
It seems that the company is already moving to China.
However, Mercedes boss Ola Källenius denied this: “It is by no means the case that we would therefore invest less in Germany.
On the contrary.
We spend the majority of the tens of billions that we spend every year here.”
Human rights violations, which have recently become more and more public, also leave a bitter aftertaste in trade with China.
The country pursues a decidedly different policy than Germany.
With regard to the car manufacturer, according to the Mercedes board of directors, this is not an issue and no reason to end the trade.
"At Mercedes, the same standards apply everywhere with regard to human rights and working conditions," says Källenius.
If you were to artificially hold back in China, currently the largest market, you would fall dramatically behind the competition, the CEO explains.
