Even Toyota sells more taxis than Mercedes in Germany, with VW taking its place as the market leader
- Mercedes’ taxi business in Germany is collapsing, with a 71% drop in sales in 2024.
- The brand’s market share dropped from a dominant 52% in 2019, to 18% this year.
- Mercedes is not interested in offering factory-conversions as the taxi market is too small.
In many European countries, including Germany, the stereotype for a taxi is a Mercedes-Benz sedan. However, this image has drastically changed in the past few years, with Mercedes’ share in the business being evaporated. Still, the massive sales drop appears to be more of a strategic choice than an accident.
The collapse in Mercedes‘ taxi business is more than evident when you look at the numbers. Taxi sales of the brand in Germany fell by a staggering 71 percent between January and August 2024 (497 units) compared to the same period last year (1,730 units).
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According to market research analysis data provided to German newspaper Handelsblatt, the 497 Mercedes taxis sold in the first eight months of 2024 include 127 examples of the E-Class (-90 percent) and a single unit of the B-Class (-95 percent), with the Vito minivan being the only model that kind of retains its popularity.
Overall, Mercedes’ market share in the German taxi arena shrunk from a prominent 52 percent in 2019 to 38 percent in 2023. This year, the data suggest it will only be 13 percent, with more and more taxi operators choosing other brands.
The new market leader in the taxi business is Volkswagen, mostly thanks to the Touran and Caddy vans. Even Toyota sells more taxis than Mercedes in Germany, with special versions of the Corolla and the RAV4.
Just a single new Mercedes-Benz B-Class taxi was registered in Germany between January and August 2024
In 1896, Daimler invented the modern taxi, being the first company to equip a motor carriage with a taximeter. Up until the late 2010’s Mercedes was proudly communicating its “traditional partnership with the taxi industry”. So what caused the huge drop in the company’s market share? The answer is a change of heart in the strategy towards taxi conversions.
Last year, Mercedes CEO, Ola Kallenius, announced that the brand would stop offering factory-converted taxi models and special discounts to taxi operators: “After intensive testing and extensive market analyses, we have determined that sales and installation rates in passenger transport are not sustainable enough for a viable factory solution.”
Speaking to Handelsblatt, a Mercedes manager explained that taxis “do not fit the luxury standards” of the brand, adding that rivals BMW and Audi also don’t bother to enter the segment. However, the most important reason is the size of the taxi market in Germany. Every year, there are only 6,000-7,000 new taxi registrations, compared to the 2.8 million sales of new passenger vehicles.
Mercedes will continue offering options for limousine services based on the E-Class, although future taxi conversions will have to be taken care of third-party companies, making them less attractive to operators from a financial standpoint.
Despite the small numbers, some argue that taxis can help a brand grow its sales, serving as test rides to customers. It seems that Mercedes officials don’t agree with that anymore.
Mercedes-Benz
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