There are two different corporate names to watch. Austria's long‑running Stern‑Gruppe is a family conglomerate active in transport, construction and energy centred on Gmunden; it is not the dealer group winning Mercedes branches in southern Germany.
Who the Sterne Gruppe are
The dealer group calling itself Sterne Gruppe was created by two established Bavarian families — the Kreuter‑Medele‑Schäfer group and Abel+Ruf — specifically to bid for Mercedes‑owned Niederlassungen when Mercedes-Benz began selling them. The joint vehicle entered the market in 2024/2025 and took ownership of the Ulm/Neu‑Ulm Mercedes‑Niederlassung with effect from 1 December 2025.
Since that integration the partners have presented the combination as a connected regional network: in communications they report a combined footprint of 16 locations covering about 13,750 km2 and a catchment of roughly 2.6 million people. The group has said the combined business (Kreuter‑Medele‑Schäfer, Abel+Ruf and Neu‑Ulm) produces roughly €800 million in turnover, sells about 12,500 units and employs around 1,348 people.
Recent deals and footprint
On 12 November 2026 Mercedes‑owned Augsburg was confirmed as a second Niederlassung awarded to the Sterne Gruppe; the companies and manufacturer said the handover is scheduled for 30 April 2027. Augsburg accounted for more than 2,400 new and used vehicle sales in 2025 and about 190 employees were notified of the planned change at a Betriebsversammlung. The group has stated that the Neu‑Ulm deal produced a faster‑than‑expected turnaround: a 25% reported revenue rise in the first year and an approximate 10% staff increase at that site.
Company statements frame the moves as a contiguous market strategy in Bavarian Schwaben and neighbouring areas: the two family groups will keep their local brands and identities but centralise functions such as IT, finance and marketing to hunt for synergies across the combined territory.
What this means for the market
Sterne Gruppe's purchases are a concrete example of the consolidation Mercedes‑Benz sought when it began selling about 80 manufacturer‑run Niederlassungen: established family dealers are creating regional groups that can scale sales, service throughput and shared back‑office costs. Mercedes has signalled that the sale programme is attracting “herausragendes Interesse”, and a dealer winning a second Niederlassung is viewed by the manufacturer as a validation of that strategy.
For the CEE and Austrian markets, however, there is no public evidence that the Sterne Gruppe (the German dealer consortium) has acquired operations outside Germany. Reporting and corporate materials to date document growth inside Bavarian Schwaben (Ulm/Neu‑Ulm and Augsburg) and a wider southern German footprint, but not expansions into Austria or Central and Eastern Europe. Where name confusion arises, Austria's Stern‑Gruppe in Gmunden is a separate, diversified regional group (transport, construction, energy) and not a Mercedes dealer consolidator.
In short: the Sterne Gruppe is a new, fast‑growing Bavarian dealer network built by two family businesses that has so far expanded by acquiring at least two Mercedes Niederlassungen (Neu‑Ulm, Dec 1, 2025; Augsburg, announced 12 Nov 2026, handover 30 Apr 2027). There is no verified public record of the dealer consortium moving into Austria or other CEE countries at this time.
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Sources: KFZ‑Betrieb, AUTOHAUS, Abel+Ruf, Augsburger Allgemeine, Stern‑Gruppe (Austria)
