VIDEO: BMW, Mercedes-Benz Banter About Benz CEO’s Retirement

BMW and Mercedes-Benz are known to playfully poke at each other from time to time. And so when the time comes for Mercedes-Benz CEO Dieter Zetsche to finally retire, BMW couldn’t help but make a cheeky video for the ex-CEO regarding his retirement:

The opening shot of BMW’s video showed a lookalike of Zetsche getting out of headquarters during his last day. He waves a few to the employees, turns in his company ID for the last time, and was then driven home in a Mercedes Benz S-Class by his chauffeur.

Now, here’s the clincher; once the Mercedes-Benz S-Class exits from the scene, he comes out driving a BMW i8. Then it ends with a short clip saying: “Thank you, Dieter Zetsche, for so many years of inspiring competition.” It was then followed by the BMW emblem and the carmaker’s slogan: Sheer Driving Pleasure.

Of course, Mercedes-Benz had to answer back with a short, cheeky tweet (with a bit of marketing on the side) that mentioned the company’s new electric brand that’s directly competing with BMW’s electric models. So yes, in the end, the two are still competing with each other–playfully.