China

China sales fell 28.3% in H1, roughly eight percentage points below the market. The CLA L has not resonated with Chinese buyers; shopper accounts pointed out deficiencies in technology, design, and space. The electric GLC L must show Mercedes can rebuild demand without buying share. The brand has priced it at a premium to competitors like the BMW iX3 L, but using pre-sale pricing—and having launched the first GLC L version below its pre-sale price—reads as the brand gauging whether the market perceives enough differentiation to pay it. If GLC L and follow-on models close the product gap and the early signals of brand moving up EV buyers’ priority list bear out, it should support Mercedes’ ability to charge a premium.

BMW Group’s combined BMW and MINI deliveries roughly tracked the China market’s first-half decline of about 20%, but the drop overwhelmed gains in other regions. The new China-specific iX3 L’s product and pricing combination seems to have earned buyers’ attention, but whether that interest converts into sales, whether the brand can then make the broader lineup resonate, and how much of BMW’s former volume it can profitably recover remain to be seen.