When people buy a Mercedes-Benz they expect a car that is technically perfect, luxurious and extremely comfortable. Those living in a home designed by the German car manufacturer should expect something similar, says Wilfried Steffen, the head of the business innovation department at Mercedes-Benz.
The automotive company last week announced that it is entering the residential property market and has designed and furnished six apartments in Kensington, west London, which will be available to rent from next month.
Mercedes-Benz is one of the first car manufacturers — if not the first — to make the move into interiors. Yet designing and furnishing homes is not as big a departure from designing automobiles as you may think. “Cars are a type of living quarters,” Steffen says. “The design team was challenged — there is an expectation that the interiors will be similar to our cars.”
The design team is used to challenges; it recently designed a driverless car, a helicopter, motor yacht and the interior of a private jet. Diversifying, Steffen says, is a move to make the business more innovative.
The show apartment looks, well, as if Mercedes-Benz has designed it. It has soft, flowing lines that mirror the look of their cars, and a dramatic colour palette of black, silver and red. It feels reassuringly expensive and high-tech.
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The living space has a curved media wall, which is “reminiscent of the feature line of a car”, and has a high-gloss black finish and an integrated smart TV. More obviously car-like are the lights in the headboard of the master bedroom suite, which resemble headlights when switched on.
The company says: “More people are permanently on the move. They live and work in unfamiliar cities where they are looking for a home away from home and a sense of security. That’s exactly what we want to offer them — at the very highest level and with the perfection and quality that you would expect from Mercedes-Benz.”
Mercedes-Benz has worked with other brands to create bespoke pieces for the apartments; Burmester has designed a sleek sound system, while Swarovski has created an S-shaped crystal chandelier that hangs above the dining table.
Mercedes has partnered with Frasers Hospitality, the luxury hotel chain, for the scheme, and the latter will be operating and marketing the apartments. They can be rented for between £300 and £400 per night — not cheap but possibly more affordable than buying the A-Class Mercedes-Benz, which starts from £21,065.
The Kensington apartments are part of a pilot scheme, which the company is calling Mercedes-Benz Living @ Fraser; the second phase is nine rental apartments in Singapore which will be completed next year. The company is serious about making this new venture a growing part of its business: once the pilot phase concludes next year, it will look to “rapidly” expand the concept to other cities.