Maddocks is acting for luxury vehicles company, Mercedes-Benz, on the development and implementation of a new Agent Model known as Retail of the Future (ROTF).

Under the new model, Mercedes Benz will directly sell its cars to customers while the franchise partners will facilitate the handover of the car to the buyer while managing the after-sales support and pre-owned car business.

Maddocks has been involved from the outset of this project four years ago, advising on the regulatory and competition issues both in the transition of the reseller network to an agent model, as well as the legal and commercial structure of the new model.

Mercedes-Benz' innovation to transition from a dealer model to a direct sales agency model has also become the centre of a $650 million dispute brought on by 38 of its Australian dealers. The high profile case has been viewed with interest by motor vehicle manufacturers around the world.

The Maddocks team advising Mercedes Benz includes Greg Hipwell, Shaun Temby, Gina Wilson, Christopher Marsh, Mira Martin, Jacinta Atkinson, Sasha Di Sipio, Alisha Wright, Isabelle Heath, Alice Robertson, Rebecca Power, Joshua Green, Ed Howard and Claudia Radzikowski-Tanas, Aman Dhingra, Shannon Murdoch.