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00:00Ok, here we are in the studio, I had just told you about it a little while ago.
00:05We will talk about the Mercedes brand in general, but also about a model in particular, let's say it right away, the new CLA that gives us a lot of ideas.
00:15Interesting to talk about the future of this brand and I will introduce the guests right away.
00:21We do it with Mirko Cercili, who is, in fact, head of retail experience and press relations for Mercedes-Benz Italy.
00:30Thank you Mirko for being in our studio.
00:32Thank you for the hospitality.
00:34And I would also like to greet and thank Vadim Odinzov, head of public communication and relations for cars and Vambi, again of course Mercedes-Benz Italy.
00:44Thank you Vadim for coming to visit us.
00:47Thank you, good evening.
00:50Ok, I wanted to start with a general consideration that then leads to different points of discussion.
01:00We know, we've said it many times, the automotive world is constantly evolving, but an important brand like yours, which on the one hand has a lot of history behind it to remember, to leverage which is of course an important asset and on the other hand must also look to the innovation that we are experiencing.
01:17Innovation also means the relationship with your customers, with the public and so on.
01:25That's precisely why structuring a company in a modern way is very important.
01:29As I was referring to Mirko, how did you think of structuring yourselves also to have a new quality of communication with your customers?
01:39Yes, then I would start from the ability to combine tradition and innovation, which is a fundamental strategic element also in the communication and proposition of a company on the market and with respect to its public.
01:54At Mercedes-Benz Italia, we decided to reconfigure our communication by incorporating press communications and marketing communications, thus creating an always-on communications department within which the brand could seamlessly communicate with its stakeholders, delivering key messages with great coherence and with a broad synergy of people and work.
02:24And this is bearing the desired results.
02:32Absolutely.
02:36We are already starting to see the first tangible results of this new asset, this new reorganization, with the launch of the CLA, which, I repeat, focuses on the brand's ability to communicate, to create a relationship with the public and with other market players in a more fluid and open manner, and, let's say,
02:54with a continuous exchange.
02:56Okay, this is important, but of course, upstream there must be products and, well, you presented, I remember when we met a year ago, in fact, you gave me the opportunity to listen to you in your annual plan and CLA, you had, in fact, stated explicitly.
03:17It would be a turning point, not just any model, not just any new product, but a very, very important one and, for that, as I was saying, I'll start by saying that CELY gives us the opportunity to talk about many, many profound aspects.
03:33Starting, now we have to divide ourselves into chapters, starting with the aesthetic aspect which is important, fundamental to all models, especially to yours and the CLA.
03:43Vadim, what does it offer in terms of aesthetic stylistic features that were not there before, in any case, that are innovative compared to the past?
03:54Well, as we were saying before, the CLA is a very important watershed in the history of Mercedes.
04:00In a way, we have said that history, innovation and tradition have always followed one another in the history of Mercedes, and this is an example of this.
04:09The CLA is what is taking Mercedes into the future of electrification.
04:16It is a vision, a vision, the QX vision, which is transformed and brings to the road all the wealth of experience from a technological point of view on a series model,
04:26and it should also be the same from an aesthetic point of view, but without too many upheavals.
04:31So it maintains a fairly classic, very sporty line, but at the same time there is this front end that leaves a luminous signature that is in some way the identifying element of a brand, the identifier of a brand.
04:46Today, cars are often all the same.
04:49Instead, the luminous signature of a car at night was often the unmistakable element to identify a model, and this is also the CLA,
04:56but we have also seen it a little further ahead recently with the new GLC, so it also draws from the past, but with elements of strong innovation.
05:06It seems easy with the products that you obviously produce, but because the clientele is not a single head, it does not have a single body,
05:14there is the more nostalgic one, there is the sporty one.
05:17You look a lot at the sportiness, the elegance of course, it goes without saying at Mercedes,
05:23so it is quite a difficult task also for your designers and engineers to maintain this balance.
05:29Yes, but the car is in a moment, as we said at the beginning, of profound evolution,
05:34probably at the moment of greatest evolution since its creation within a context that is also undergoing profound evolution,
05:41which is the context, let's say, of contemporaneity, which poses completely new and different challenges compared to the past.
05:49First of all, sustainability.
05:51From this point of view, all the elements that contribute to the car object are within this dynamic.
05:57Let's also think about the design, the style, you mentioned it earlier, right?
06:01The ability of a brand to be recognizable and also the ability of a brand to adapt its stylistic language to the changing times,
06:11remaining faithful to the brand's stylistic features and also, so to speak, the elements that somehow identify it within society.
06:21An example is this 800v architecture on which the new A class is based.
06:26If we think about it, the average for other cars is based on 400v in short, it's a step,
06:35it's a formidable step forward that also translates into autonomy, of course, which is the ultimate goal, right?
06:43Absolutely, as we said before, the CL is a real game changer in the world of electrification.
06:50It starts with an 800v architecture, so high efficiency also in the battery,
06:54very fast charging speed, a charging peak and a charging curve that remains fairly constant throughout the charging cycle.
07:02So this is very important for a customer who plugs the car in and in 10 minutes has charged up to 300km of range, which is a lot.
07:13And it's new underneath the skin because there is this new architecture based on a completely new platform,
07:18and MMA platform, which will be adopted by the entire new family of compact cars,
07:24but it's also new in terms of the interior, because the new CLA also has MBOS on board,
07:30the new proprietary operating system that will allow us today, and even more so in the future,
07:35to exploit all the potential of digitalization of what we call digital extras.
07:40Yeah, well, this is the other important chapter, but before we get there,
07:44because I want to go into it a little bit. Please, please, okay?
07:50To underline what Vadim was saying, the CLA, which is our aesthetic and technological manifesto of the new Mercedes era,
07:57is also, as we were saying, a game changer in electric mobility, right?
08:02If we consider an actual range of 700km for the car plus 300km with 10 minutes of charging,
08:13this clearly opens up the possibility of electric travel in a completely new field.
08:20Sure, and I wanted to bring you to this field, Mirko, because it was a topic that I had saved for the end,
08:26but since we're here, let's develop it, let's tackle it right away.
08:30The part about electrification, this change, this important transition, we know.
08:38Speaking of the big picture,
08:42Europe, the European Commission obviously gives guidelines, let's call them dictates,
08:48but lately we've seen, I wouldn't say changes of course, but new openings at the highest levels.
08:53How are you experiencing this?
08:57I'll give you a brief personal introduction, then tell me if it's true or not.
09:06Um, you are pushing yourselves to the limit in terms of innovation, as we saw with the CLA,
09:12but you have always maintained a broad spectrum, a wide range of engines, ready for any eventuality,
09:18basically.
09:23I'm also thinking about diesel, which you are supporting until it dies out,
09:27and how, with your performance.
09:29It is, uh, a policy that you are pursuing, or that, in any case, you now feel like saying,
09:35well, it puts us in an advantageous position, because perhaps things are changing,
09:40things are changing and the deadlines will perhaps be postponed to a later date.
09:44Yes, no, in reality I must say our strategy is clear and very continuous,
09:49so from this point of view it has not undergone any kind of upheaval or variation.
09:54So the direction is clear, sharp and defined and it is the one that leads to electrification,
10:00we have already announced it and we as manufacturers and as mobility providers,
10:04we will be able to offer a completely electrified range to our customers.
10:08Obviously, this must also somehow meet actual market demand and approval.
10:18Therefore, let's say that at the same time, we continue to develop endothermic platforms and engines,
10:24in which we are truly best in class.
10:27You mentioned this a few seconds ago, for example, diesel.
10:35We have diesel hybrid engines, with a plug-in charging system,
10:39where we are truly best in class,
10:41where 300 kilometers of total range between the internal combustion engine
10:45and the electrified component reaches almost 1,300 kilometers.
10:49So the strategy is clear, it aims towards electrification.
10:56At the same time, traditional technologies and techniques continue to evolve,
11:01including endothermic engines, petrol, diesel, in their pure and electrified versions.
11:08The car is changing, and rapidly, also in other important aspects,
11:12such as electronics linked to safety, ease of use, and so on, and
11:16So, an extraordinary panorama under the acronym CLA.
11:45Yes, it's a bit of a vision that comes true.
11:49If you remember, about 10 years ago we launched that acronym,
11:53that case, right?
11:54Connected, autonomous.
11:58Sharing, so there was also that possibility in electric.
12:02And so, it's a bit like closing the circle with an excellence that has been achieved today
12:06both through electrification, because today we have batteries,
12:10we are already working on solid-state batteries,
12:12We have already carried out an experiment on the EQS with a solid-state battery,
12:18we are over 1,300 kilometers,
12:20so distances that were unthinkable just a few years ago,
12:23and also regarding digitalization,
12:26which is a very important element within our cars,
12:28because because it is a safety drive,
12:30it is an infotainment drive,
12:32so it brings everything that today's customers ask for on board the car,
12:36because from this point of view the car becomes a bit of an extension of what we use every day,
12:40we have in our hands every day, which is our smartphone.
12:44We have gone with a slightly broader concept,
12:47it was said that the car was a smartphone on four wheels.
12:51Today, the concept of re-interaction, also from our designer's point of view,
12:57is that it must be a smart home on four wheels,
12:59so it also recreates an environment,
13:02which we recreate a bit through digital elements that intersect with analog elements,
13:06with attention to detail regarding the choice of materials,
13:09the choice of interior design.
13:12So it's a whole complex of elements that partly derive from our customers' feedback.
13:19We found that we went back to analog in some elements
13:22because our customers didn't want to use touch in some situations.
13:28Did you mention the MBOS?
13:29The MBOS is another revolutionary step.
13:32We started with the MPUX, which is a bit of a container.
13:37Today we have filled the container with an element of strong development and great potential because,
13:43having developed it in-house,
13:44it allows us to implement it with a whole series of services that customers are increasingly asking for.
13:52We at SafeDrive often have the opportunity to interact with you,
13:56we know you as a company very well and you always come up with truly incredible things.
14:02Last, maybe the last, probably not,
14:06this record on the Grande Rocordo Annulare to give concrete demonstration on a stretch of road
14:11that is not very busy in the rest of the world of your autonomy, of your ability.
14:17First, how did this thing come to mind and how was it done and the fronts it gave?
14:22So, uh, it derives a bit from,
14:24it is a bit of a synthesis of what Mirko anticipated at the beginning, right?
14:28Of this synergy between marketing and the press to create common platforms,
14:32to develop common projects, so and it starts a bit from a bet,
14:36a bet made with our president when we went to Nardo this summer with the famous GTX record,
14:41so a round-the-world trip in 7 days, average speed of 300 km per hour,
14:47a lot of power and we reasoned on the fact that records are beautiful.
14:50But often they do not land in everyday life and the next day they are often forgotten,
14:55even if they remain there in a beautiful showcase with many trophies and a lot of glory,
15:00then it remains there.
15:02What can we do to bring it into everyday life?
15:05We found a functional storytelling, a challenge of rings, two completely different rings.
15:10One was a high-performance ring, which was the one in Nardo,
15:16where a car was stressed in extreme conditions to reach extreme speeds,
15:20endurance records and extreme duration.
15:25And on the other hand, in what is our daily challenge, where stress is
15:29immediately put to the test, in fact, that is the S-ing in which other qualities of the car are stressed,
15:36such as autonomy, long-range, charging speed, comfort,
15:41because we Romans spend a large part of our day, our lives, on the ring road.
15:47And consequently we had the idea of putting this car to the test.
15:52We carried out some tests, and we saw that it gave fantastic results.
15:57Well, those who were better than us at doing these tests in the past told us,
16:01if you put a 6 in front, you've already achieved a great result.
16:04We put a 7 in front, so it's something that went from
16:088,700 kilometers to
16:10701 kilometers and 30 kilometers left on the battery.
16:13Quote.
16:14It was fun because it sent a message to those who are really starting to be interested in these cars.
16:22It sent a message that this car can actually cover what is declared without much effort
16:27because we did these laps at an average speed of 5 kilometers per hour,
16:31using the night so as not to spend the whole day on the engine,
16:34but not being able to take advantage of the car's generative recovery.
16:39So we gained a bit of comfort, but in the meantime we lost a bit of
16:43margin, in essence.
16:46You're telling me, Vodan gave me some help in the way to
16:49make this car known, here, CLA, how do you get your customers to know it?
16:56What did you think about?
16:58So that everything, every detail is understood and understood.
17:02Yes, precisely, always in the new of the shared platforms of the shared strategy.
17:07The CLA was a watershed model with many milestones that accompanied its reveal with a war premiere in Rome.
17:18So this is a source of great pride for us too because Rome was chosen as the world capital
17:23to present this car to the general public for the first time.
17:27Has a whole series of milestones also linked to communication.
17:30We carried out very strong communication activities, always remaining in the analog digital combination,
17:37including video mapping and large billboards in the largest Italian cities specifically to announce the arrival of this car.
17:48And here are other fundamental communication elements, including the communication we created linked to the Grande Roccordo Honorol,
17:55which somewhat transferred MG's record on the track to another track that is, let's say,
18:01the daily arena of comparison for many motorists, to finally arrive at the open launch weekend,
18:06therefore the days in which the general public was able to discover this car in the showrooms,
18:11in the dealerships and also test drive it first hand.
18:14I thank you, our time runs out here, but you've really helped us understand first of all what the CLA product is,
18:24but also where Mercedes is going in general.
18:26So I would like to thank Mirko Skocili and Vadim Oduzov for being with us.
18:31Thank you, you.
18:33Of course, thanks also to you who followed us, but safe drive obviously doesn't end here.
18:38After a short break, the long series of reports, then we'll see you in the studio.
18:41Street
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