Interesting. Not having looked at any data, I’m now wondering why most taxis in Germany are, and have been for a long time, mostly Mercedes? (Commonly their E class.) Are they just cheaper to buy for that purpose or what’s the reason?
Taxis get maintained religiously, and taxi companies have no problem replacing worn parts or even entire engines.
There is a big difference in build quality and longevity between modern Mercedes cars and the ones built in the 1970s and 1980s. They used to feel substantially better than other cars. Now they don't really, except for the S class.
That’s a good point. A lot of taxis in Germany are owned by individuals (so while it’s still a business, it’s often a one-person business), but I know they have workshops specifically for taxis, that are probably somewhat specialized on Mercedes. And maintenance packages that factor into the price, which Mercedes likely has if only because of their long tradition as a taxi brand, would play a role as well. Otherwise, I would still expect taxi concession owners to go with the most reliable brand, because any maintenance cost still has to be subtracted from your profit.
Note that Germany has some pretty strict requirements on what a car needs to have in order to be used as a taxi. Going non-standard in your choices there is probably not worth it financially in the end.
I've heard that German luxury cars (what we consider them here in the USA) are more like what we think of Fords here; so common and normal, considered affordable. Or maybe just not "high end" due to being common? Again, though, only heard that - nothing to back it up.
It also may be that because Mercedes and BMWs are "local brand" vehicles, there are more of them, and more mechanics out there able to service them? Whereas (to them) foreign cars like American vehicles you have to take to special American automobile repair places (like we have European auto repair places here that specialize in those makes/models)?
While it’s true that BMWs and Mercedes are extremely common (and by feeling also less of a “luxury brand”), at least in Munich, I’ve rarely seen a BMW taxi. They’re not all Mercedes, but I’d say that the majority easily is. So there has to be reasons for that, but the potential existence of special maintenance packages for taxis could easily be one of them.
My observation of Germans is that they have a strong sense of nationalism towards their own car brands, so I'm not surprised taxi drivers use a local brand rather than Prius like the rest of Europe.
As others have said older Mercedes had very good reliability, so that probably still rubs off on how people feel about cars today. I'd consider BMW more sporty than luxury.
BMW is local to Munich though. So they'd lean more towards BMW than Mercedes. I'm thinking it might be Mercedes having more leg room or being more comfortable on the back than BMW, which have always been marketed as driver centric.
For instance, the base A-CLass (small/mid size sedan) sold in Germany has a 110hp engine and cloth seats, and very few standard features. Base price (w/o VAT) is ~$24,000US.
The base US A-Class has a 190HP engine, leather, more standard features, and starts at $32,500.
The US consumer looking for a $24k 110hp car with cloth seats is not walking onto a Mercedes lot. Mercedes and BMW have always been luxury here, and for a long time there was a price premium simply for the exchange rate and tariffs. It would take a lot of advertising to make Mercedes a middle market brand and it would hurt their luxury image. Considering the number of not wealthy people I see financing or leasing “aspirational” cars like E-class Mercedes or BMW X-series, this isn’t really hurting the breadth of their market.
Of course, it helps that most low-powered cars sold in the EU will have manual trans, where all US MBs are autos...
Also, US buyers will run the AC a lot more, and AC eats a lot of power...potentially as much as 15-20HP... that's a lot more noticeable with a tiny engine.
But then it means that Americans are overpaying by buying capacity they don't really need. This is something I'm always wondered at, as in the 3rd world even well-off people try to minimize their expenses.
It also may be that because Mercedes and BMWs are "local brand" vehicles, there are more of them, and more mechanics out there able to service them? Whereas (to them) foreign cars like American vehicles you have to take to special American automobile repair places (like we have European auto repair places here that specialize in those makes/models)?
That's been true for taxis in the US for a long time --- which are usually full-size Chevrolets and Fords. They're also much roomier and thus give a more comfortable ride than the average import econobox, with extra capacity for luggage.
The Chevy Caprice and Ford Crown Victoria have been out of production for years so regardless of their advantages they won't be used as taxis much longer.
Mercedes sells non-luxury cars in Europe. They sell cars with cloth seats and manual transmissions. It’s just that in some markets such as the United States they have only sold luxury cars.
There have been going down market in the U.S with the C class, then the CLA and now the A class, but these are still low-end luxury cars.
