Cover CEO and President of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Amanda Zhang stands beside the new Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4MATIC
CEO and President of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Amanda Zhang stands beside the new Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4MATIC
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The CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia shares how sustainability inspires the automaker’s vision of luxury today
“Everybody told me I was very brave to do this, but I recently took my EQS SUV all the way to Kuala Terengganu. I mapped my route and where exactly I needed to recharge,” muses Amanda Zhang, who took over the reins as CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia in August 2023.
Tatler caught up with Zhang at the launch of luxury automaker’s latest top end vehicles last month—namely the Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4MATIC, the Mercedes-AMG S 63 E Performance, Mercedes-Benz GLS 450 4MATIC, and Mercedes-Benz CLE 300 4MATIC Coupé—the first Mercedes-Benz model to feature the cutting-edge Digital Light with projection function.
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At the event, Zhang reaffirmed the brand’s commitment to sustainability, acknowledging the enormous potential and curiosity in the Malaysian market for electric vehicles (EVs), especially among high-income buyers. “First of all, the technology has developed so fast. Mercedes-Benz products come in a 500-600 kilometre range, so you know that for a typical city commute, you could go for a week without having to charge the car,” adds Zhang, who was formerly the CEO of Mercedes-Benz Romania.
Above Amanda Zhang took over as CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia in August 2023
Amanda Zhang took over as CEO and president of Mercedes-Benz Cars Malaysia in August 2023
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“We live in a time when we’re all so busy that we start not to notice little things anymore. But by driving EVs, in a way you’re almost forced to be more alert, more conscious about the environment around you, about the places in your surroundings.
“Driving like I did up to Kuala Terengganu, you need to know which little towns support charging. I never knew about towns like Paka before, but I know there are facilities there with new DC charging capabilities today,” she adds with a grin.
Mercedes-Maybach GLS 600 4MATIC
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Despite slower adoption rates of fully electric vehicles in Malaysia compared to European countries like Germany, Mercedes-Benz is unfazed in its ambition to be net carbon neutral in its entire value chain by 2039.
Mercedes-owned factories and vehicle production locations have already achieved net carbon-neutrality. The company’s global ambition is for all Mercedes-Benz production plants worldwide to operate on 100 per cent renewable energy with zero carbon emissions by 2039.
“In the implementation [of these targets], we also want to respect the customer's speed and decision in adoption,” says Zhang, adding that Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s strong foundation of offering middle to top-end core vehicles has served well in catering for diverse consumer needs in Malaysia.
“In Europe, people almost don’t buy cars anymore, they lease them. Here, ownership is still very dominant, and Mercedes-Benz cars are still the aspirational target of many. People see the beauty in these cars and have that emotional connection. They want to access the latest and coolest models now without having to wait till they’re 50 years old. It’s definitely what I would call a good challenge for me and my team.”
Zhang credits her team at Mercedes-Benz Malaysia for their visionary efforts to remain at the forefront of automotive innovation, whether that be electrification, greater levels of personalisation or digitalisation of customer data.
With a hint of pride, she shares that Malaysia is the only market outside of Germany to produce the Mercedes-Benz C-Class C43 AMG with the hand-built One Man, One Engine badge. Malaysia is also one of the only Southeast Asian markets that produce the Mercedes EQS sedan locally.
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“In addition to providing a first-class experience and high levels of personalisation to customers, we believe that a luxury brand is also about the ease of doing business and peace of mind,” says Zhang.
“It’s about familiarising our customers with a lot of the digital touch points we have because we want them to interact with us at the time and space where they choose to do so.”
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Previously contributing to Esquire Malaysia, Expat Lifestyle and Newsweek, Tania oversees digital stories across Tatler’s key content pillars, also leading the Front & Female platform exploring issues and topics affecting women today.
