Gen Z jewelry and fast food: Mercedes-Benz in China

To receive more content like this directly to your inbox, subscribe to Jing Daily’s bi-weekly Cars & Culture newsletter in collaboration with Cart Dept here. A burger keychain. A sculptural jewelry installation. These are not obvious moves for a century-old German automaker — but in China, they may be exactly what Mercedes-Benz needs. With sales declining and local rivals closing in, the brand is leaning hard into cultural marketing to engage younger consumers. The marque is expanding its China lineup, deepening local tech partnerships — including AI integration in the new CLA — and investing in cultural collaborations designed to signal that Mercedes-Benz understands the market on its own terms. Collabs lead Mercedes-Benz China The shift is most visible in the brand’s cultural programming, as tracked in Jing Daily’s Cars & Culture newsletter with Cart Dept. Mercedes-Benz has moved aggressively into creative territory — partnering with artists, designers, and consumer brands to build relevance. Most recently, Mercedes-Benz partnered with avant-garde jewelry brand Yvmin on an art installation at Shanghai Fashion Week. From March 25 to 31, a Maybach GLS SUV and Yvmin sculptural metal piece were displayed together — a pairing that positioned the German automaker squarely within China’s fashion conversation. Yvmin is a natural fit for Mercedes-Benz’s younger audience play. The jewelry brand has built a cult following on Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote) through high-profile collaborations — including an ongoing collection with Shanghai designer duo Shushu/Tong and a recent drop with London-based label Ashley Williams. How Mercedes-Benz shocked China in Q4 2025 In October 2025, McDonald’s China and Mercedes-Benz launched the “So Mc-Benz” campaign — a collaboration that rolled out across six Chinese cities through co-branded pop-up restaurants, centering on a black-and-gold, all-electric CLA adorned with burger motifs. China Skinny named it one of the country’s most talked-about crossovers of the year. The campaign’s secret ingredient was table tennis champion Wang Chuqin, who serves as brand ambassador for both McDonald’s and Mercedes-Benz — a dual affiliation that gave the collaboration an organic cultural hook and drove significant online engagement. The contrast is part of the point. The CLA is Mercedes-Benz’s entry into compact luxury; McDonald’s is mass-market by design. In China, that gap is precisely what made the collaboration legible — a luxury brand signaling accessibility without discounting its aspirational appeal. On Xiaohongshu, the campaign’s official hashtag drew 57,500 impressions, while #mcdonaldscollaboration accumulated around 100 million — a scale that gave Mercedes-Benz exposure well beyond its traditional audience. Creativity is luxury Mercedes-Benz’s little lion — a furry mascot used in its China marketing — has developed its own following on Xiaohongshu, where #MercedesBenzLittleLion has accumulated 472,600 impressions. For a branded hashtag on a platform where luxury content competes for limited attention, that figure points to genuine organic traction. Earlier in 2025, Mercedes-Benz launched the “Class of Creators” — a global initiative tied to the rollout of the new CLA, enlisting rapper Ice Spice, Swedish interior designer Gustaf Westman, and fashion designer Colm Dillane, known as KidSuper, alongside toy brand Hot Wheels and gaming platform League of Legends. The creative risk-taking comes at a moment of real financial pressure. In 2025, Mercedes-Benz’s China sales fell 19% YoY and declined a further 27% in the first quarter of 2026, weighed down by intense local competition and a product lineup in transition. Cultural relevance, for now, may be doing work that the showroom floor cannot.

Gen Z jewelry and fast food: Mercedes-Benz in China

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Gen Z jewelry and fast food: Mercedes-Benz in China

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