October 2012 proves to be another record month for Mercedes-Benz UK

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• 4.3 per cent market share for Mercedes-Benz UK in October, 4.5 per cent YTD
• Registrations up 11.9 per cent for the month, 11.8 per cent YTD
• A record 6,463 cars registered in October, with 79,194 registrations YTD
• Record October for B-Class, C-Class Estate, C-Class Coupé, G-Class and Viano
• AMG’s performance continues to rise – 144 per cent growth over 2011
• Strong performance continues for Commercial Vehicles

Mercedes-Benz UK has successfully started the last quarter of 2012, according to figures released by SMMT. A total of 6,463 new cars were registered, giving the company a market share of 4.6 per cent – up some 11.9 per cent on the same month last year.

Year to date (YTD), Mercedes-Benz has shown 12.3 per cent growth in new car registrations, maintaining its record-breaking market share of 4.5 per cent. So far this year, 79,194 new cars have been registered – the strongest growth of any main premium German brand.

Registration success was shared between private purchasers and fleet business, with October’s results showing growth of 27.2 per cent and 10.7 per cent respectively.

It was a record October for the B-Class with 630 new cars registered, and a record-breaking total of 5,795 YTD. C-Class has continued to perform well with a record month resulting in 523 Estate registrations and 872 Coupé registrations.

G-Class and Viano also had a strong month with Viano recording the highest October registrations at 741. The E-Class Cabriolet topped its segment with 254 registrations and the CLS-Class Coupé and S-Class outsold competitors with 198 and 126 registrations respectively.

All body styles of the C-Class have proved popular with retail customers, with a mix of the Saloon, Estate and Coupé accounting for 968 new privately-purchased cars taking to the roads in October – which has contributed to a 68.6 per cent increase across the models compared to 2011 YTD.

AMG registrations have more than doubled to 1,750 YTD - a 144.8 per cent increase compared with 2011. The top performers in October include the C 63 AMG Saloon and Coupé, which have racked up 121 registrations in the month (1,001 YTD).

CLS 63 AMG Coupé registrations were up with 121 registered YTD and since its launch earlier this year there have been 51 registrations of the ML 63 AMG.

Commercial vehicles

Vans and trucks have shown consistently strong performance in 2012, with YTD growth of 13.6 per cent (Vans) and 12.3 per cent (Truck).

Vito has grown by 20.4 per cent YTD and 477 Vito Taxis have taken to Britain’s streets in 2012, up 66.8 per cent YTD.

Atego and Actros trucks have risen significantly YTD. Atego has increased 32.9 per cent YTD while Actros has grown 40.1 per cent over the same period. Econic, the specialist Refuse Collection Vehicle, has grown 16.2 per cent YTD, with 437 vehicles servicing the country‘s refuse collection and recycling needs.

Marcus Breitschwerdt, President and CEO Mercedes-Benz UK commented: “Our October performance has been really encouraging. B-Class and C-Class continue to break records and we are heading for one of our best years ever for AMG. We are continuing to maintain record market share levels and our products are being well received.

“Commercial Vehicles have also put in a strong performance throughout October and with Citan, our new city van, the CLS Shooting Brake and the new A-Class joining us very soon the whole team, and our customers of course, have a lot to look forward too.”

Credits: Mercedes-Benz UK

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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Mercedes-Benz Cars Division Starts with Record Global Sales into the Fourth Quarter of 2012

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Following up on the record sales in the first three quarters, Mercedes-Benz posted a new sales record in October as well. With 109,632 vehicles delivered, the record of the same month in the previous year was topped by 6.0%. Thus, the brand has sold 1,074,558 vehicles (+5.1%) since the beginning of the year, which is also a new record.

The Mercedes-Benz Cars division likewise posted new record highs both in October and the year to date. Last month, the company delivered 118,609 units (+6.2%) of the Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach brands to customers. The total for January to October came to 1,162,519 vehicles (+4.9%).

Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: "With our sales record in October we have started successfully into the fourth quarter. Our new models, spearheaded by the new A-Class and B-Class, are giving us significant tailwind. We are expecting a new worldwide sales record for the full year as well. In our currently largest market, the U.S., we are on record course with high growth rates and can thus again secure our market leadership since the beginning of the year."

In Germany, Mercedes-Benz sold 23,270 vehicles in October. Thus, sales increased 3.0% compared to last year. The top favorites were the new compact models of the A-Class and B-Class, the M-Class and the facelifted GLK model. In the full year to date, sales in Germany are at 214,028 units (+0.7%). The brand thus remains marketleader on its domestic market since the beginning of the year.

In the remaining Western European market (without Germany), Mercedes-Benz posted strong sales in October. With deliveries of 22,543 new vehicles the brand recorded a plus of 7.4% – primarily also thanks to the first deliveries of the new A-Class. Thus, Mercedes-Benz could gain additional market shares almost everywhere in Western Europe. With 246,247 units recorded since the beginning of the year sales are slightly above the previous year's level (+1.0%). The brand with the star posted particularly high growth rates in October in France (+19.9%), Belgium (+26.0%) and Switzerland (+11.5%). With a sales increase of 10.7% since the beginning of the year, the company even posted a new sales record in the UK.

The development in the NAFTA Region continues to be very positive. In the U.S., Mercedes-Benz has sold 215,596 vehicles (+11.9%) since the beginning of the year, and 23,978 units in October (+5.9%) – both times a new record despite the hurricane “Sandy”. Mercedes-Benz is thus still the most sold premium brand in the U.S. in the year to date. The brand again achieved record sales in Mexico. In October alone, 27.4% more vehicles were handed over to customers than in the same month of the previous year.

In China (incl. Hong Kong), year-to-date sales rose by 5.5% to a new sales record of 160,425 units. The month of October with 15,895 units sold, was short of the very strong October sales in the previous year (p.y. 16,539 u.). With the full availability of the recently launched high-volume B-Class, the company expects additional momentumin the next months. The facelift of the GLK is already doing very well (+40.8%). The S-Class sedan remains market leader in China in the last year of its lifecycle. Additionally, the company is continuing its work on the development of a new sales organzation that will contribute to the long-term and sustainable development of
Mercedes-Benz in China.

Mercedes-Benz sales continued to develop very dynamically in Russia and Japan. In Japan, the company posted a sales increase of 24.6% since January. In Russia, Mercedes-Benz reached a new sales record with a plus of 26.4%. Also in Australia the brand registered a new sales record since the beginning of the year.

After the successful market launch of the A-Class in Europe and strong sales of the B-Class, the compact car segment showed a plus of 34.3% in October. Overall, 20,923 A-Class and B-Class vehicles were handed out to customers last month. Since the new A-Class is currently still in the start-up phase, the compact car segment will gain additional sales momentum in the coming months. In addition the A-Class will be launched in further important markets. In December, for example, in the UK. China and Japan will follow in the coming year.

At 344,036 units (+7.1%), sales in the C-Class segment have been developing very well in the year to date. Especially popular in October was the coupe as the top selling vehicle in its class. Since the beginning of the year it was already sold nearly 40,000 times. In the year before its facelift sales of the E-Class sedan were on the previous year’s level in October (-0.3%).

Strong growth rates were posted by the S-Class segment with a plus of 21.4% in October. Thus, deliveries for the year amounted to 67,548 units (+5.3%). The S-Class sedan, which is celebrating its naming anniversary this fall, continues to hold the pole position in its segment since the beginning of the year. The flagship of the Mercedes-Benz brand was given the name "S-Class“ for the first time exactly 40 years ago. The SUVs of the brand posted new sales records both since the beginning of the year and in October. With a plus of 16.1%, 227,494 units were delivered to customers since January. The total for October was 26,174 units (+22.6%). The demand was especially high for the facelifted GLK, which reached new highs both in October (+32.7%) and the year to date (+10.5%). The likewise facelifted G-Class, even doubled its sales, thus marking a new sales record last month. With an increase of 37.9% the M-Class is also at a new record high since the beginning of the year. Moreover, it is the top seller in its segment for the year to date.

Despite the continued difficult market environment in Southern Europe the smart sub-compact brand also developed positively in October. In the previous month, a total of 8,977 smart fortwo (+8.1%) were delivered to customers worldwide. Sales in the year to date are thus at 87,961 units (+2.4%). Therefore, smart is well on course to hold the good sales level of the previous year. The innovative two-seater posted particularly high growth rates in October in the USA (+205.2%), Great Britain (+37.3%), Canada (+70.4%) and Japan (+91.3%). The city runabout most recently ranked first among the sub-compact cars in the customer barometer of ADAC, which yearly measures drivers' satisfaction with their vehicle.

Mercedes-Benz Cars October 2012 sales at a glance

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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Mercedes-Benz USA Posts Record October 2012 Sales of 23,978 Vehicles

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Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported record October sales of 23,978 for its Mercedes-Benz models, up 5.9%, delivering a record year-to-date total of 215,596 new vehicles to customers, up 11.9%.

Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, smart and Sprinter for the month totaled a record for MBUSA overall with sales of 26,642, up 9.0%, bringing the year-to-date total to 240,973 up 15.8%.

"Despite the challenges of a storm of this magnitude and the incredible hardship in the Northeast, our strongest market, we managed to achieve another record month," said Steve Cannon, president and CEO, MBUSA. "We're still optimistic about ending this year with the highest sales in our history."

Mercedes-Benz sales for the month of October were led by the C-, E- and GLK-Class model lines. The sporty C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand on the car side for younger and first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – took the lead with sales of 7,636, up 7.8%. The 9th generation E-Class followed with sales of 5,265 and MBUSA's restyled compact SUV, the GLK-Class, rounded out the top three with sales of 2,943 up 18.0%. Additionally, the sporty SLK roadster sold 435 vehicles for the month, up 105.2%.

At the high end, the all-new iconic sixth generation 2013 SL roadster – which debuted in showrooms this past spring -- posted sales of 574 yielding an increase of 567.4% and the 28 SLS AMG supercars sold this month made for a 115.4% increase over the same period last year.

On a year-to-date basis, top performers were the C-Class with 65,376, the E-Class with 50,061 and the M-Class with 29,966.

Sales of the high-performance AMG models were up 35.5% for the year at 5,512 compared to the 4,069 vehicles sold over the same time last year.

Sales of the company's BlueTEC diesel models were up 14.2% for the year at 12,142 compared to the 10,630 diesels sold over the same period last year.

The company's smart brand continued twelve consecutive months of sales increases. October sales of 998, were a 205.2% increase over October 2011 (327), bringing the year-to-date volume to 8,309, up 443.8% when compared to the 1,528 vehicles sold by MBUSA last year. When compared to the combined Penske and MBUSA sales year-to-date last year (4,084), sales are up 103.5%.

On the van side, Sprinter had a strong month with 1,666 vehicles sold in October, up 12.2% over last year and up 22.5% on a year-to-date basis.

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 6,732 vehicles in October; an increase of 20.8% when compared to October 2011 (sales of 5,571 vehicles). On a year-to-date basis, MBCPO sold 66,318 vehicles, an increase of 5.4% over the comparable period (with sales of 62,929 vehicles).

Mercedes-Benz USA October 2012 Sales Chart

Credits: Mercedes-Benz USA

Copyright © 2012, mercedesgla. All rights reserved.

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