Mercedes-Benz Starts Successfully into the Second Quarter of 2012: Sales up 3.6 Percent in April

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Mercedes-Benz has had a successful start of the second quarter, with sales up 3.6%. Last month, the company sold 104,344 vehicles of its core brand. Year-to-date shipments are thus at a record level of 418,246 units (+9.7%).

The Mercedes-Benz Cars division has also registered a new sales record since the beginning of the year. Between January and April, 454,778 vehicles (+9.4%) of Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach have been sold; 113,901 units (+3.5%) of these were in April.

Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “We are continuing on the road to success as the second quarter begins, and have again increased our sales compared to last year. This is mainly due to the ongoing high demand for our new products. Sales of the new B-Class and the new M-Class are already performing excellently and will continue to develop dynamically due to the gradual introduction to other markets. In the months to come, the next generation GLK, the new G-Class and the E300 BlueTec Hybrid, the most efficient sedan in the premium segment, are celebrating their market launch. This will provide additional sales momentum.”

Demand for the brand with the star remains especially high throughout the NAFTA region. In the USA, Canada, and Mexico, sales have been at a record high since the start of the year. In April alone, 22,336 vehicles (+23.8%) have been handed over to customers in the United States. From January to April, 83,849 Mercedes-Benz cars (+17.5%) were sold. This makes Mercedes-Benz in April and year-to-date the best-selling premium brand in the U.S. In Canada, sales were up15.8% year-on-year in the same period. In Mexico sales even rose by 29.9% compared to the previous year.

Mercedes-Benz sales also developed very dynamically in Russia. New sales records were reached in April and year-to-date. Sales growth was 25.9% in April.

Sales were also robust in the Middle East region in April, growing by 20.3%.

Mercedes-Benz also continued to perform very well in Germany. Since January, 78,957 vehicles have been sold in the home market, which corresponds to a growth of 10.2%. Deliveries increased slightly year-on-year to 22,405 units (+0.6%). Thus, Mercedes-Benz had the strongest sales of any premium brands in Germany, not just in April but also year-to-date. Regarding registrations, Mercedes-Benz in April once again outperformed the total market and gained market shares. In addition, the S-Class followed by the CLS, the B-Class, and the SLK followed by the E-Class coupe, lead the registration figures of their respective segments of Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA).

Unlike the total Western European market, Mercedes-Benz sales in Western Europe (without Germany) continued to develop well since the start of the year growing by 3.8%. Particularly in the UK and Switzerland Mercedes-Benz generated strong sales figures in April and the year-to-date. In the UK April deliveries were up 13.9% year-on-year; in Switzerland Mercedes-Benz even generated a 35.8% sales growth.

Due to the run-out of the high-volume B-Class, as well as the recent launch of the M-Class and the start of the locally manufactured GLK, these very popular models only had a limited availability in China (incl. Hong Kong) last month. Overall, sales amounted to 14,677 units (-11.2%). Since the beginning of the year, 66,005 cars have been delivered to customers in China – more than ever before during this period. Thus, Mercedes-Benz is well on track to achieve its goal of record double-digit growth in China in 2012.

Japan also developed very well, where the company delivered 12,392 vehicles between January and April, increasing sales by 38.5%.

In terms of products, the B-Class continues to enjoy strong demand. Since its market introduction far more than 45,000 units of the new model have been sold.

The other Mercedes-Benz series are also very popular among customers. Since the start of the year, the C-Class segment has grown by 22.5%; in April the growth rate was 10.5%. The sedan and estate of the E-Class passed significant sales milestones last month. Since market launch 2009, 500,000 sedans and 100,000 estates of the current generation have been delivered to customers.
The S-Class sedan generated 14.1% sales growth between January and April. Thus, the brand’s flagship remains the leader in its segment. In addition to this outstanding sales development S-Class made additional good news in April. The S250 CDI BlueEfficiency won the award “World Green Car of the Year 2012.” Besides the S-Class sedan, numerous other models of the Mercedes-Benz brand took top honors in their category.

Demand for SUVs remains particularly high. In April and year-to-date, sales records were achieved once again. In April, 21,437 models (+9.1%) were sold in the SUV segment; in the first four months of 2012 sales accounted to 80,553 units (+8.0%). Especially the new M‑Class is developing very dynamically. In April, one third more vehicles (32.3%) of this series were sold than in April 2011. The sales of the GL and the G-Class also performed very well, increasing in April by 54.6% and 20.4% respectively.

The smart fortwo continued its positive development in the month of its facelift. With 9,557 vehicles sold, sales grew by 2.3%. Since the start of the year, sales totaled by 6.4% (36,532 units). In April, the demand for the innovative two-seater was particularly strong in the U.S. with growth of 63.6% as well as in China (incl. Hong Kong) at 41.5%, and Germany at 14.6%.

Overview of Mercedes-Benz Cars unit sales

Credits: Daimler AG

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