Product details

On the morning of 25 December 2001, many people in Wuhan, a large city in middle China, were very surprised to see a Mercedes SLK230 sports coupe being towed by a water buffalo in the street. The next day, the car was wrecked by five strong men, in Wuhan Wild Animal Park (WWAP), with the owner of the car thereby publicly humiliating Mercedes. After the negotiation between WWAP and Mercedes failed, WWAP threatened to smash another Mercedes car. Why had such a terrible incident happened? What made the car owner resort to such an extreme solution? How would Mercedes handle this situation? Could Mercedes avoid this smashing incident happening again? No matter what Mercedes did, the threat of the imminent car smashing meant that they would have to act fast. The case will be particularly useful in discussing the company''s PR (public relations) strategy and crisis management skills. The case could also help a foreign-investment company understand the complicated environment in China including the role of government, Chinese consumers, and the Chinese culture.