The Mercedes‐Benz A‐class crisis

Abstract

The launch of the Mercedes‐Benz A‐class in 1997 was greeted with enthusiasm by the international motoring community until the Swedish “elk‐test” was performed. A spate of toppling cars was not how Mercedes‐Benz had pictured the launch of their new, safe supermini. Early public relations activity only succeeded in exacerbating the crisis. This case study highlights the mistakes made in the initial stages of the crisis, before examining the strategy employed by Mercedes‐Benz to recover the situation. This article concludes that a more open, honest and proactive approach to crisis communication might have saved Mercedes‐Benz a great deal of money and embarrassment.