Fast-paced start to 2013 for Mercedes-Benz UK

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- Mercedes-Benz sustains momentum built up in 2012: 7.4 per cent rise in registrations recorded for the first month of 2013
- A-Class registrations get off to a strong start in its first month on-sale – achieving 6.2 per cent segment share
- C-Class and E-Class Saloon variants each hold Number One spot in their highly-competitive market segments
- C-Class ranked 10th in the overall UK vehicle registration figures for January
- AMG records another strong month – registrations are up by 75 per cent when compared to the same period in 2012
- C 63 AMG Estate leads increases with 125 per cent gain
- New Citan van is introduced to the market for the first time as dealer vehicles are registered ahead of its UK launch

As the exciting new A-Class was introduced to the market for the first time, Mercedes-Benz recorded a 7.4 per cent rise in registrations for the month of January, according to figures released by the SMMT.

Among the strongest performers in January was the C-Class Saloon, placed first in its highly-competitive market segment with a 12.8 per cent increase compared with the same period last year. Likewise, the E-Class Saloon recorded an even stronger start to the year, claiming the Number One spot in its segment with a 30.9 per cent gain in registrations.

Retaining its position as the fastest-growing performance brand in the UK, AMG reported a 75 per cent rise in registrations for January. Contributing to this high-performance result was the C 63 AMG Estate, the registrations for which rose by 125 per cent.

As the weather conditions deteriorated, registrations of the M-Class rose by 386.3 per cent compared to January 2012 – securing a substantial 14.4 per cent share of the market segment.

The new A-Class captured a 6.2 per cent share of its segment in the month that sales commenced in the UK – a strong start for an exciting new model that will be joined by the CLA four-door coupé in June.

Likewise, Mercedes-Benz made its debut in the small van market as the first examples of the new Citan were registered ahead of its market introduction in the coming months.

Marcus Breitschwerdt, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz UK commented: "We begin 2013 re-energised, with great momentum and as the fastest growing performance brand – a great start and one everyone in my team at Mercedes-Benz UK will be working hard to sustain.

"This promises to be an exciting year for us - our customer service teams at our passenger car retailers and CV dealers across the country share this excitement and are thriving on the challenge of exceeding the expectations of our customers. We have advanced and desirable new models being added to our range – the new A-Class made its market debut this year – and we’re looking forward to the arrival of the new CLA and the new E-Class. This is bolstered by great new products from our Commercial Vehicles operation – including the new Citan – adding to the surprises in store for 2013."

Credits: Mercedes-Benz UK

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Mercedes-Benz starts the year with a 9.2% rise in sales

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Mercedes-Benz has started the new year with record sales. The brand with the star sold a total of 94,895 units worldwide in January, a gain of 9.2%. This growth in sales was driven by strong sales in the United States as well as in China and Russia. Despite challenging market conditions, Mercedes-Benz also saw further growth in Western Europe, where the new A-Class and B-Class in particular continued to generate substantial customer interest. Moreover, Mercedes-Benz SUVs were again a significant source of growth worldwide.

“Following the record figures achieved in 2012, our sales for January represent a strong start to the new year,” said Dr Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We are optimistic about 2013, although we need to be prepared for market volatility particularly in Western Europe over the months to come. We see growth potential especially in North America as well as in Japan, China and Russia.”

The company expects various new products to provide further momentum especially from mid-2013. Dr Schmidt: “With the new E-Class family and the new S-Class we are launching our model initiative for the high-end and luxury segment in 2013. Our compact four-door coupe, the CLA, was met with an enthusiastic response when we presented it in Detroit a few weeks ago.”

In the NAFTA region last year's extremely positive sales trend has continued. In its currently largest market, the US, Mercedes-Benz delivered 22,501 vehicles (+10.8%) to customers in January, thus reaching record levels and clearly outperforming the market for premium vehicles. It also achieved record sales in Mexico, up by 32.6%.

China (incl. Hong Kong) achieved a new sales record in January, with 16,695 units delivered (+15.4%). Mercedes-Benz also had a highly positive start to the year in the Asia/Pacific region (+15.9%), Japan (+9.8%) and Russia (+26.6%).

Contrary to the strongly declining total market in Germany (-8.6%), sales of Mercedes-Benz last month was on the previous year’s level (12,541 u., -0.7%). With this Mercedes-Benz secured once again the market leadership in Germany and gained significant market share. Also in Western Europe (excluding Germany), the brand asserted its position against the market trend by selling 22,331 vehicles, a gain of 3.5%. The increase in sales was particularly strong in the United Kingdom (+8.9%) and France (+17.5%).

The new compact cars from Mercedes-Benz continue to perform well. Last year, the A-Class celebrated the most successful market introduction in the company’s history and more B-Class vehicles have been sold than ever before with a gain of 51.2% (145.649 u.). The previous record set in 2006 was thus outdone by 11.4%. This trend continues in 2013. In January a total of 20,587 new A-Class and B-Class cars have been handed over to customers. Sales therefore rose by more than a half to reach a record high level (+58.5%). The popularity of these cars was confirmed by the award of the A-Class “Gelber Engel” (Yellow Angel): Just recently the members of the General German Automobile Association (ADAC) voted it the most popular car of the Germans. Only a few months before the launch of the new Mercedes-Benz E-Class family, the current models remain popular: Of the sedan alone, 13,448 units have been delivered to customers in January (+4.8%). In the S-Class segment Mercedes-Benz sold 5,310 cars last month (January 2012: 5,826 u.) despite the fact that the luxury sedan is also about to undergo a model change-over this year. The Mercedes-Benz SUVs put in another excellent performance, achieving record sales of 24,228 units in January (+33.3%). The main drivers of growth were the GLK (+41.5%), the GL (+24.7%) and the G-Class (+78.7%).

Now in its seventh year, the smart fortwo remains a highly popular car, with sales of the two-seater in January amounting to 7,285 cars (January 2012: 7,605 u.). This compact urban runabout generated particularly encouraging growth in the domestic market and in China (incl. Hong Kong). Also the smart electric drive saw strong demand. In 2012, more than 1,000 electric smart have been produced and delivered to customers. Thus smart was market leader in 2012 among the all battery-electric passenger cars in Germany.

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

Credits: Daimler AG

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Mercedes-Benz USA January 2013 Sales Soar to Highest on Record at 24,059 Units (plus 2013 Super Bowl TV advertisement)

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Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported today sales of 24,059, a 10.7% increase over the 21,726 vehicles sold in January 2012 making it the greatest year start in the company's history. The Mercedes-Benz model line alone marked its highest January numbers with sales of 22,501, up 10.8%.

"We've set another record this January and are breaking into 2013 at a strong sales pace," said Steve Cannon, president & CEO of MBUSA. "It's a historic time for the brand with product milestones that will drive our momentum. Our new CLA, the star of our Super Bowl ad (see below) this weekend, will reset the entry point. Stay tuned as product innovations continue throughout the year with the introductions of our completely redesigned E-Class and new generation of our flagship S-Class."
Strong demand for both the Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles and SUVs fueled sales for the month with the sporty C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand for younger and first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – as the volume leader posting sales of 7,214, up 10.6%. The 9th generation E-Class followed with sales of 5,469 and the versatile M-Class rounded out the top three with sales of 2,928.

For January, sales at the high-end increased as well with the S-Class up 19.5% and the SL-Class up 290% when compared to the same period last year.

The Sprinter model line started the year strong with sales of 1,077 for the month, a 16.6% increase from January 2012, and smart recorded sales of 481 vehicles.

Sales of the high-performance AMG models were 495 for the month and sales of the company's BlueTEC diesel models finished the month at 1,054.

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 8,159 vehicles in January; an increase of 17.5% when compared to January 2012 (sales of 6,945 vehicles).

Credits: Mercedes-Benz USA

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Available in 19 countries from 1 January 2013: Mercedes-Benz eCall emergency call system - faster help at the crash scene

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In June 2012, three years ahead of the planned obligatory date set by the European Commission, Mercedes-Benz eCall, the vehicle emergency call system, was launched. In the event of a serious accident, the emergency services can be notified automatically and be informed of the precise location of the accident and the car model within just a few minutes. The Mercedes-Benz emergency call system is standard in the latest version of the COMAND Online multimedia system. Except for possible mobile phone charges, the Mercedes-Benz emergency call service is completely free of charge to Mercedes-Benz customers. The service is now available in nineteen European countries.

After a serious accident every second counts. The Mercedes-Benz emergency call system uses this crucial phase and can notify the emergency services automatically after a serious crash. If the airbags or belt tensioners are deployed and COMAND Online is linked to a mobile phone, the precise GPS position of the vehicle and the vehicle identification number (VIN) are sent via text message (SMS) to the emergency call centre of the Bosch Communication Center, and at the same time the location data are transmitted via DTMF (dual-tone multi-frequency signalling). Even if the occupants are unconscious, or for example are on holiday and do not know exactly where they are, the Communication Center can inform the emergency services quickly and precisely.

In addition, the vehicle will quickly set up a call to the Bosch Communication Center. And a particularly practical feature which can be helpful in an emergency: the call is not conducted in the language of the country, but in the language which the driver has programmed in to COMAND Online. An emergency call can also be made manually, as "Mercedes-Benz emergency call" is always the first entry in the phone book. Geographically, eCall is being phased in in several stages: on 1 June 2012 the automatic emergency call system was introduced in nine European countries – Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the UK, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland. From 1 January 2013, ten more will follow: Norway, Finland, Lithuania, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, Portugal, Luxemburg and Malta.

As part of the eSafety initiative, the European Commission has ruled that by 2015 eCall technology should be available in all new cars. EU Commission sources have found that with the help of an immediate eCall giving the coordinates of the accident scene, the time the emergency services take to arrive could be reduced by 50 percent in rural areas and 40 percent in towns. This could mean up to 2500 fewer road deaths per year in the EU.

Credits: Daimler AG

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