Carmakers resurrect old cars

Mercedes-Benz Korea is capitalizing on its old car restoration project to raise customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

By Korea Herald

Published : April 17, 2016 - 14:05

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Carmakers that do business in Korea are pushing customer programs related to classic cars in a bid to increase customer satisfaction and boost car sales.

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is leading the trend. It has launched a restoration program for old cars under the slogan “Could after sales service also evoke memories?” as part of its customer service efforts.

During the 2016 Service Experience Day event, held last Friday at its new service center in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, the company’s Korean unit unveiled two classic Mercedes-Benz cars restored by its certified technicians.

Korean legendary soccer player Cha Bum-kun shares memories of his restored Mercedes-Benz GE 230 SUV at the 2016 Service Experience Day, held by Mercedes-Benz Korea in Yongin, Friday. (Mercedes-Benz Korea)

The first restored car is the 30-year-old GE 230 sport utility vehicle, owned by Korean legendary soccer player Cha Bum-kun. Cha was a Korean striker who played for Bundesliga, a professional association football league in Germany, in the 1970s and 1980s.

“Looking at this car tears me up. It’s not just a car. To me, it’s like my youngest child,” said Cha at the event.

“This old car has memories of my life in Germany. It also carries the memories I spent driving it all around Korea to instruct soccer after I returned home with it.’’

At the event, Mercedes-Benz Korea CEO Dimitris Psillakis also unveiled the second restored car-- the 13-year-old ML 270 owned by Baek Jong-suk, a snowboarding coach.

The two classic Benz cars were roughly restored with the same functions and performance that they had when they were first delivered to the customers, the CEO said.

“(The project highlights) Mercedes-Benz’s efforts to put customer satisfaction first and to preserve its values at the same time,” said Psillakis, adding that the customer service project related to old cars will continue.

An industry expert said that such marketing that centers on old cars is effective in boosting customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

“It is an effective marketing strategy to create more loyal customers and build upon the brand’s premium values,” said Kim Pil-soo, an automotive engineering professor at Daelim University.

“For the success of old car-linked marketing, it is important to put the history of a brand and storytelling into the core of that process.”

Besides Mercedes-Benz, BMW also runs a customer program related to old cars, although it does not restore them. The firm launched the marketing campaign “My BMW Story” which gathers stories from customers who own BMW cars that are at least 20 years old.

Among Korean carmakers, Hyundai Motor is also holding its second brilliant memories exhibition, which presents 12 artworks based on stories of Hyundai’s old cars.

By Seo Jee-yeon, Hong Sung-pyo

(jyseo@heraldcorp.com), (hong1@heraldcorp.com)

Korea Herald
Korea Herald
Articles by Korea Herald

Carmakers resurrect old cars

Mercedes-Benz Korea is capitalizing on its old car restoration project to raise customer satisfaction and brand loyalty.

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