A Case Study of Daimler AG's Entry in the Hungarian Automotive Industry

Case Study from the year 2018 in the subject Business economics - Operations Research, grade: 1,7, The University of York, language: English, abstract: This case study focuses on the entrance of Daimler AG in form of their brand Mercedes-Benz Cars, in the following Mercedes-Benz, originally founded in Germany, into the Hungarian automotive market. Mercedes-Benz is active in the field of passenger cars and this specific section will be addressed. Even though previous interaction with the Hungarian market was conducted in the past, the focus will lie on the successful engagement of Mercedes-Benz since 2008, when the decision to build a car assembly plant in Kecskemét was taken. For its foreign engagement in Hungary, Mercedes-Benz used an offshore outsourcing strategy shown by strong engagement with local suppliers which produce many parts for the car manufacturer, in combination with equity investment in the final assembly plant. This makes Mercedes-Benz a fragmented MNE as it uses outsourcing, while at the same time it is an original design manufacturer. It's designs and produces are crucial parts of its cars itself. The core business strategy is described for Mercedes-Benz with respect to four aspects: strengthening core businesses, growing globally, leading in technology and pushing digitalization. Regarding the strengthened core business and growing globally, this leads to further increase sales of high-tech cars, especially in China and Asia. With respect to leading in technology and pushing digitalization, Mercedes-Benz aims at expanding its technological leadership in the field of security, autonomous driving, connectivity and drive systems.