MERS Outbreak Cause Of 63% Drop In Mercedes-Benz Car Sales
The recent outbreak of MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome) in South Korea has not bode well for German car brand Mercedes-Benz as drastic decline in sales continue to be reported.
The abbreviated name of the virus sharing a common first syllable 'mers' with Mercedes-Benz has caused a global negative consumer association with the brand name of the automobile powerhouse.
"The second quarter of 2015 has seen a 63% decline in profits," Mercedes-Benz spokesperson Lars Dietrich told reporters at a news conference on Wednesday, adding that the predicament for the brand "couldn't be helped" as soft drink brand Sarsi suffered a similar brand name backlash during the 2002-04 period of the SARS virus outbreak.
"We should have bloody seen this coming when first sightings of the virus surfaced in Saudi Arabia 2012."
The spokesperson continued, blaming internal organisation researchers for a lack of foresight that has landed the company in its current dilemma. "Considering Saudi Arabia was in the Middle Eastern continent, and early symptoms reported were respiratory, these incompetent fools should have put 'Middle East Respiratory Syndome' together and foreseen it."
Despite the global dip in sales, Mercedes-Benz has not seen a significant change in the Singaporean market. Analysts cite low road pricings in Singapore and its national sculpture the Merlion as two key possible reasons for Singaporean's unwavering faith in the automobile brand.
