Sponsored partner portrait. In the space between Stuttgart and the Allgäu a new dealer story is unfolding: the STERNE GRUPPE has brought together two long-established family Mercedes-Benz houses and, in December 2025, the former Mercedes-Benz branch in Ulm/Neu‑Ulm. For drivers, buyers, dealers and employees in Bavaria and Baden‑Württemberg the result is more than scale; it is a cluster of experienced people and local service capacity now working under one owner‑managed roof.

The team that built the group

STERNE GRUPPE was formed from the family-owned businesses KreuterMedeleSchäfer and Abel+Ruf, and today presents itself as an owner-managed group with headquarters in the Neu‑Ulm/Augsburg area. The company’s own site lists six of its public locations — Riedlingen, Memmingen, Biberach, Dornstadt, Günzburg and Neu‑Ulm — and its impressum names Peter Schäfer and Lukas Ruf as company representatives. Public registers and filings additionally list Joachim Fellner among the managing directors, underlining a leadership team drawn from both founding families. (Sources: sterne‑gruppe.de; commercial register entries.)

People are central to the STERNE GRUPPE story. The group employs more than 1,400 people across 15 locations in a market area of roughly 10,000 km² stretching from Donauwörth and Augsburg to the Allgäu and Ulm/Neu‑Ulm. Autohaus and kfz‑betrieb reporting for December 2025 put the combined 2024 revenue at around €800 million and noted roughly 280 apprentices in the workforce — figures that speak to the group’s size and to its investment in training and local jobs. (Sources: AUTOHAUS; kfz‑betrieb; sterne‑gruppe.de)

That workforce includes experienced dealer executives who joined the group as it expanded. One visible example in the Neu‑Ulm organisation is Hans‑Joachim Daigler: the STERNE GRUPPE passenger‑cars contact page lists him as a Head of Sales for the Neu‑Ulm operation. Public professional profiles show a long career in the Mercedes/Daimler and dealer world; industry reporting and the group’s communications describe him as bringing many years of Mercedes‑related experience and deep sector expertise to the team. Presented like this, the personnel mix combines family ownership with commercial leadership that knows the marque inside out. (Sources: mercedes‑benz‑sternegruppe.de; public professional profiles.)

Service and presence — what customers find

For customers the practical advantages are concrete: a wide brand mix under one partner (Mercedes‑Benz passenger cars, vans, trucks and buses, plus smart, Ford, Tremonia and Fuso are listed in reporting and on the group’s public profile), multiple service points for maintenance and warranties, and a local network that retains regional roots while deploying larger‑group capabilities. The Ulm/Neu‑Ulm acquisition — the first Mercedes‑owned branch to change hands in this bidding phase and transferred to STERNE GRUPPE on 1 December 2025 — added roughly 200 staff and further service capacity to the group’s footprint. (Sources: AUTOHAUS; kfz‑betrieb; sterne‑gruppe.de)

Beyond product selection, STERNE GRUPPE emphasises staff development and apprenticeship programmes. The numbers reported for apprentices and employees show a dealer network that relies on people-based service and seeks to keep know‑how local rather than centralise every task away from the region. For fleet customers, private buyers and businesses that depend on reliable aftersales this local coverage — combined with the backing of a larger dealer group — is a decisive selling point.

What this means for the market

The consolidation that created STERNE GRUPPE reflects a broader trend in premium distribution: Mercedes‑brand scale is becoming concentrated among fewer, larger, often family‑owned partners that can afford investments in facilities, digital tools and people. For competitors and suppliers the immediate effect is a stronger regional counterparty able to negotiate fleet deals and handle high workshop throughput. For employees and trainees, the group’s scale offers career paths inside a single regional employer while retaining the family ownership model familiar to many in the German dealer landscape.

Local customers should notice steadier availability, an extended service reach and a consistent brand experience across neighbouring towns. For corporate and fleet buyers, a larger dealer network in a contiguous market area simplifies logistics and servicing schedules. At the same time, the STERNE GRUPPE’s positioning as an owner‑managed business — with roots that in the Kreuter family go back to 1936 — keeps the group visibly local in its messaging and governance. (Sources: AUTOHAUS; sterne‑gruppe.de)

If you are a driver looking for a service appointment, a business seeking a fleet partner or a young professional thinking about apprenticeships, STERNE GRUPPE presents a mix of local service, trained teams and dealer scale. We warmly invite you to visit a STERNE GRUPPE location or get in touch with the Neu‑Ulm team to see how their combination of experience and local presence can help you — staff there will be happy to advise on models, service slots and training opportunities. (Contact details and site list are available on the dealer’s website.)

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Sources: AUTOHAUS, kfz‑betrieb, sterne‑gruppe.de, RegisterCheck, Mercedes‑Benz STERNE GRUPPE contact page