Mercedes-Benz rolls out cost-cutting programs in China

Mercedes Benz is making new cost-cutting efforts in China, including redesigning its performance evaluation system for local employees and cutting production lines in the hope of reviving sales and better competing with rivals like BYD and Tesla, sources told 36Kr on Monday. The German automaker will soon set new goals in a program of objectives and key results (OKR), which will first be rolled out at its research and development center in Shanghai to put pressure on low performers to improve or leave, sources said. Meanwhile, it is considering cutting production lines at its two joint factories with manufacturing partner BAIC on the outskirts of China’s capital, according to the report. The news comes after sales of Mercedes Benz fell 7% year-on-year to approximately 714,000 units in China last year, and the German car giant revealed plans in November to cut costs by “several billion euros per year” in the coming years. [36Kr, in Chinese]