Mobility with Ambition: Brand Strength Meets Future
Interview with Frank Döhring, Managing Director of Jürgens GmbH
For over 100 years, the Jürgens Group has been an integral part of the automotive world in South Westphalia – with Mercedes-Benz as its partner from the start. Today, the family business presents itself as a regionally anchored mobility service provider with technological foresight, a high training ratio, and a clear customer orientation. In the interview, Frank Döhring, Chairman of the Executive Board, talks about sustainable strategies, digital processes, and why personal relationships in sales are more important than ever.
Wirtschaftsforum: Mr. Döhring, you co-manage a family-owned company with a long tradition with your fellow managing directors. What makes the Jürgens Group special for you?
Frank Döhring: Since 1919, the Jürgens Group has represented Mercedes-Benz in the region – founded in Hagen, the company today achieves a turnover of around 850 million EUR. In the future, the Jürgens Group will be represented at 19 locations in North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse, and Rhineland-Palatinate with 1,400 employees, as one of the leading mobility partners. Thus, we are one of the largest employers in the sector. About 200 apprentices are being trained with us – training is deeply anchored in our family philosophy. The owners, Jürgen Jürgens and Dr. Claudia Fular-Jürgens, lead the company in the 3rd generation with noticeable commitment. This attitude is also evident in our caring, not least because our owner is a doctor.
Wirtschaftsforum: What brands and services do you cover?
Frank Döhring: Our main brand is Mercedes-Benz. Additionally, we offer smart, the truck division of Daimler Truck. Since July, we have also introduced the MG brand with combustion, hybrid, and electric vehicles, which is ideally suited to tap new target groups due to its technology openness. We distribute smart through a joint venture with Geely: models like the #1 or #5 show how brands are repositioning themselves. In addition to new and used vehicle sales, we offer all services from one source: workshop, parts sales, car rental, and financing through the Mercedes-Benz Bank.
Wirtschaftsforum: What does your typical customer base look like?
Frank Döhring: Our customer base includes private individuals, commercial customers, and fleet business. Car rental companies are also part of it – we supply vehicles, take them back, and market them professionally through our used car department. With around 8,500 used cars sold annually, this segment is currently our biggest growth driver.
Wirtschaftsforum: Electromobility is on everyone's lips. How do you position yourself technologically?
Frank Döhring: We are technologically open – it's up to the customer to decide whether they want electric, hybrid, or combustion engines. Mercedes-Benz will launch over 25 new models in the coming years, which will be barely distinguishable by their type of drive from the outside. Electric vehicles are in demand but less than once projected. Without subsidies, their share is between 10 and 15%, with hybrids at about 30 to 35%. The next generation of vehicles will have ranges of up to 900 km – this will change a lot.
Wirtschaftsforum: How do economic uncertainties affect your business?
Frank Döhring: Mercedes-Benz is relatively independent of economic cycles – our clientele is less sensitive. The commercial vehicle business reacts more sensitively as it involves capital goods. In the car sector, numbers remain stable, and the used car market is growing – not least due to the high value retention of our vehicles.
Wirtschaftsforum: You mentioned the agency model of Mercedes-Benz. What experiences are you having with it?
Frank Döhring: We sell new cars in the name of and on behalf of Mercedes-Benz Group – at a uniform price throughout Germany. For us, this is an advantage: The customer decides based on trust and service, not on discounts. Many have been coming for decades, often across generations. If a customer asks what he should buy, we know: The relationship is right – then we have done everything correctly.
Wirtschaftsforum: What role do sustainability and digitalization play for you?
Frank Döhring: A big one. We have equipped every viable roof with photovoltaic systems, modernized heating systems, and switched lighting to LED – with a view towards self-sufficiency and cost efficiency. We have been working digitally for a long time: electronic vehicle and workshop records, iPads for all service area employees, paperless processes. First AI applications are already running in the workshop, such as for the automatic creation of service orders. This is just the beginning, but the path is clear.
Wirtschaftsforum: What vision do you have for the future of the Jürgens Group?
Frank Döhring: Our goal is healthy growth – regionally and area-oriented. As of August 1, 2025, the Jürgens Group took over the vehicle construction business area of August Schmidt GmbH & Co. KG in Hagen. This traditional company has been developing and manufacturing customer-specific semi-trailers and vehicle bodies for over 150 years and offers comprehensive service performances. In addition to the operating company, the 34,000 m2 large company premises will also become the property of the Jürgens Group. We warmly welcome all employees to our family business. Furthermore, the Jürgens Group acquires from Mercedes-Benz AG the Dortmund branch with the paint and body center and the other locations in Lünen and Unna. With this acquisition, the Jürgens Group not only expands its portfolio and develops the regionally significant and high-performance sales and service locations of the Dortmund branch further, to offer customers the best service, but also provides all 290 employees with a new professional home.
Internally, we want to continue investing in training and education and strengthen our structures for new technologies. Everything under one central guiding principle: The well-being of our employees and customers is our focus. This is not only emphasized but lived daily.