Benz hits top gear in the two-speed economy

Aussies are supposedly keeping their hands in their pockets, but that hasn't been the experience of Mercedes-Benz dealers.

The three-pointed star's retailers cannot currently meet demand — especially for the high-performance AMG products.

According to the importer's Senior Manager Corporate Communications, David McCarthy, the factory has already made some concessions to deliver more product to the local market, but won't be able to supply enough stock to achieve certain sales milestones the local arm had in mind.

"Basically, this month, we sold the 1600th C63 since launch," he told motoring.com.au. "C63 coupe, we have... more than 150 signed orders... of which we will be able to deliver a hundred this year. C63 sedan and estate; the combined figure there is about 170 orders, of which we can deliver 120 this year."

So Benz won't be in a position to deliver its 2000th C63 before the end of the year. According to McCarthy, the company sold and delivered 533 units of the C63 last year, but can't match that figure in 2011, despite this year's orders outpacing last year's. There are a number of reasons why...

"With the changeover from the old C63 to the new C63 — the facelift and different transmission — production was slowed," McCarthy explained. "We missed out, as did a lot of markets, on the cars we needed."

McCarthy agrees that the Australian economy is quite robust enough to support a small but sound market for AMG products — "We're in the top five markets" — but Benz's production output has been affected also by the Japanese tsunami back in March and even the aftermath of the GFC. In the case of the Japanese disaster, the supply of certain high-end audio systems has been constrained, as have certain paint pigments.

"People who buy this type of car always want them tomorrow, but they're also prepared to wait," explained McCarthy. And when they're prepared to wait, they'll often compensate by ordering the car with different options. This is where tsunami-related supply constraint is a factor in the ability of the company to deliver cars on time.

Supply constraint or not, however, Benz is still on track for a ripper final quarter for the year, says McCarthy.

"Our order book, AMG combined, and what we can deliver by the end of the year is at least 300 vehicles — and there's a combined value there in excess of $60 million."

And the company isn't in cruise mode either, taking the 12th order for the C63 Black Series, even though that car is not released locally until the second quarter of next year and Benz hasn't announced the price yet.

McCarthy expects the total allocation of C63 Black Series for Australia and New Zealand to exceed the 40 units of the CLK Black Series sold here previously.

Before then, Benz will introduce the new E63 sedan and Estate with the 5.5-litre bi-turbo engine — due sometime during the fourth quarter of this year. Keeping the ball rolling, the company will launch the SLK 55 and SLS AMG Roadster early next year, with early-build cars to start "dribbling in" during the first quarter of next year.

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