Han Sung Motor, the largest Mercedes-Benz dealer in South Korea, aims for 10-13 percent growth in car sales in 2016, its chief executive said Wednesday.

The target is higher than the 8 percent growth rate of the country’s imported luxury car market predicted for next year by the Korea Automobile Importers and Distributors Association.
 

Han Sung CEO Ulf Ausprung revealed the company’s total car sales for 2015 is expected to reach 19,000 units, up 20 percent from last year. The number of vehicles it serviced and repaired would reach some 172,000 vehicles by the year’s end, he said.

Highlighting the various performance targets and developments reached this year, Ausprung also told reporters the firm will continue to invest in sales network expansion, service quality improvement and personnel development.

The company, which currently operates 14 showrooms, 14 service centers and four StarClass used car showrooms, will continue to prioritize personnel training and improvement to continually uplift its sales services and customer satisfaction, the CEO said.

“We have good hardware, Mercedes-Benz, but more important is the software,” said Ausprung, highlighting the exclusive academies, training programs and events formed to strengthen its employee services.

Furthermore, the firm is looking to appeal to younger customers by enhancing its digital marketing tools -- including its new mobile application -- and strengthen its up-and-coming used luxury car business, considered an emerging segment in the local imported automobile market.

In partnership with MBK, Han Sung has set up showrooms selling StarClass used Benz vehicles -- certified preowned automobiles less than four years old without an accident record and with total travel distance of less than 100,000 kilometers.

“As the used car business is still very young, we are expecting StarClass sales to take up around 5 percent of our total sales volume next year,” said the Han Sung chief.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)