While Audi is working on ridiculing the competition to increase its brand reputation, Mercedes is winning awards. Mercedes-Benz is Germany’s most popular commercial vehicle brand. This is the finding of an Emnid study commissioned by the weekly specialist magazine Verkehrs-Rundschau. In the “Verkehrs-Rundschau Image-Ranking 2009” the opinion research institute investigated for the fourth year the perception of the leading commercial vehicle brands. Mercedes-Benz took first place in three of the seven categories: Trucks, Vans and the category Hire/Leasing.

Customers and non-customers alike attribute to the truck with the star cutting-edge technology, the best equipment, the lowest fuel consumption and the greatest reliability. All of these aspects are expressed in the Mercedes-Benz performance promise “Trucks you can trust”.

Mercedes-Benz vans left the competition trailing far behind them in the “Verkehrs-Rundschau-Image-Ranking 2009”, just like last year. Of particular note is the rate of willingness to recommend, at 82.1 % absolutely outstanding.

For the fourth time in a row, Mercedes-Benz CharterWay took the top step on the podium for service provision. In the category Leasing and Hire the unique commercial vehicle service provider was honoured for the competence and engagement of its advisors.

To compile the “Verkehrs-Rundschau Image-Ranking”, the opinion research institute TNS Emnid polled in autumn 2008 a total of 400 fleet managers in transport, freight, industry and trade about the image of the most important commercial vehicle providers and about products and services for the commercial vehicle fleet.

A good image is a basic precondition for a purchase decision. According to the Verkehrs-Rundschau study, over 75 % of those questioned would never or only exceptionally purchase commercial vehicles, products or services from a provider with a poor image.