Mr. Michael Grewe, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited, began: "Under our unyielding brand philosophy of offering 'THE BEST' to customers today and tomorrow, we fulfil every discerning lifestyle of our customers by offering more than 49 models of the finest and most sophisticated products—spanning our product categories of Compact Car, Contemporary Luxury, Dream Car, and SUV. We have dominated the Thai luxury car market for more than a decade with constant growth based on both accumulated sales and a 5-digit annual delivery volume."
"Today, we significantly strengthen our business expansion plans and simultaneously prepare for a rise in vehicle delivery by extending our partnership contract with Bangchan General Assembly Limited. They have been our authorised vehicle inspection party since 2001 and the new ten-year contract runs from 2018 to 2027," elaborated Mr. Grewe. "Additionally, we are pleased to reveal our new 'Vehicle Preparation Center' on Bang Na-Trad Highway. With more than 100,000 square metres of space, the facility can annually manage 20,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles through our rigid and widely-praised Pre Delivery Inspection (PDI) compared to 12,000 units in previous years."
"Our new VPC, co-managed by Bangchan General Assembly Limited, boosts both service efficiency and capabilities by implementing a number of groundbreaking inspection technologies designed to facilitate and shorten the vehicle inspection process. All procedures are in accordance with policies and guidelines of Daimler AG to ensure smooth vehicle dispatches to our authorised distributors with the highest level of customer satisfaction under 'Zero Defect Customized Vehicles with Customer Delight' principle," added Mr. Grewe.
Mr. Vunchai Jungsanguanpornsuk, Managing Director of Bangchan General Assembly Limited, said: "We have been trusted by Mercedes-Benz (Thailand) Limited for decades and are overjoyed with this partnership extension. We strongly believe that the relocation of the VPC from the 19th kilometre of Bang Na-Trad Highway to the 30th kilometre of the same highway will beef up our operation capabilities, which can fully serve the increasing demands in the future. This 100,000 square metre VPC has a vast parking space for 2,000 units of both CBU and CKD vehicles while its total area is also four times larger than the previous VPC, covering all essential procedures namely Parking, Maintenance, PDI, and Preparation can be swiftly completed in-house before all certified vehicles are handed over to authorised distributors of Mercedes-Benz Thailand-wide."
"We also combine knowledge and technology from Germany with the expertise of Bangchan General Assembly Plant's technicians, who have been working with cars for 10 years on average. The VPC will be managed by both German and Thai executives with more than 30 years of experience in automotive industry."
"The advanced PDI vehicle inspection process consists of
- The state-of-the-art technology of Conveyer System that enhances both the capabilities and excellence of the PDI inspection process.
- The Automatic Washing Conveyor System which can thoroughly clean more than 100 vehicles within two hours.
- The LED Light Tunnel that masters to reduce hassles upon paint job inspection as it gives a wide and precise light dispersion.
- The advanced Mechanic from Germany that allows every part of the car to be checked.
- Solar Cells are installed on the roof of the VPC to produce solar energy. Twenty five percent of overall energy used at the VPC is generated to reduce pollution and save the environment.
- The Brake Tester from Germany is to certify the most crucial vehicle safety mechanism to meet German standard.
- The Colour Repairing Building uses the latest technology to fix the damage that might occur during the delivery process in Smart Repair Painting room to meet the factory standard. UV drying technology (no heat) is applied to reduce the electricity usage. The main painting room uses the environmentally friendly IR system (no heat from gas).
The above mentioned PDI process allows us to be able to efficiently check, prepare and deliver Mercedes-Benz cars to serve higher demands today and tomorrow.
Mercedes-Benz assures perfection through its rigorous inspection process comprising the following stages:
Pre-PDI
- Receive Process
- Parking
- Wash & Clean
- Accessory Fit
PDI
- PDI-Exterior
- PDI-Interior
- PDI-Underbody
- Xentry Diagnosis Test
Post-PDI
- Finish & Cleaning
- BAP & Retail Preparation
Every process is compulsory and is completed by both certified technicians from Bangchan General Assembly Plant and the finest machinery to reaffirm the sense of 'THE BEST' for customers.
Eco-Friendliness Quality of the New VPC
The VPC is built with a priority on eliminating environmental impacts. The center is equipped with a number of trailblazing green innovations such as the use of electricity over fossil fuels especially gases or a replacement of energy used for daily operation especially at the body and paint station with energy generated from solar cells. Twenty five percent of overall energy used at the VPC is generated from solar cells. Moreover, the center has a water purification system so water from the Automatic Washing Conveyor System can be purified for further use. This internal water purification system cuts the use of fresh water from the public waterworks system by 70 percent.