Ride sharing to put more premium cars on the road: Mercedes

Mercedes-Benz hopes to be one of the big winners from future ride-sharing arrangements.

Speaking with reporters at the 2017 Detroit motor show, Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche laid out his theory for how transport will work in the future.

Mercedes says fewer people are likely to buy personal cars, with more people using car-sharing or ride sharing arrangements such as GoGet or Uber when they need to drive from A to B.

But 'Benz believes car-sharing arrangements will make previously out-of-reach luxury brands accessible to new customers, and that those who continue to pay for private vehicles are likely to gravitate toward premium badges.

Zetsche says it boils down to simple maths, as "car sharing means higher asset use".

"While normally cars are used for about one hour a day, in these applications the economic benefit comes from higher use - two, three, four, five, six hours, whatever," he says.

"When you do that obviously the purchase price has a lower impact on the total economic equation than when you use it only one hour of the day, which means the share of premium can increase.

"I do believe that especially for premium manufacturers, the relevance relative to volume manufacturers in sharing will be higher.

"I certainly believe there will be people prepared to pay 10 per cent more if it's more comfortable."

Like many brands, Mercedes is investing in emerging ride-sharing and car-sharing tech.

But Zetsche says no brand has a good handle on exactly how personal mobility will work in the future.

"I think it would be highly speculative to give you any answer in this regard. I just don't know," he says.

"Nobody knows."

• For all the latest info, visit our Mercedes showroom.