0 Mercedes-Benz sells more vehicles than ever before in the first half of 2013

In the first half of 2013, Mercedes-Benz posted yet another record with sales of 694,433 vehicles (+6.4%). With 131,609 units sold, sales in June also reached record level (+8.3%), not least through strong growth in China (+16.0%). The growth in the first six months of the year was driven primarily by the stable gains in many European markets and the USA. Mercedes-Benz posted a strong first half in the BRIC states as well. In addition, the brand with the star maintained market leadership in Germany, the USA and Japan and managed to gain further market shares in nearly all Western European markets.

“The first half of 2013 went very well for Mercedes-Benz. We continued to grow in many markets and were able to post a new record“, said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars. “We also want to continue to grow in the second half. In particular, the new E-Class, S-Class and our new compact cars will provide perceptible momentum as they become available in increasingly more markets in the coming months.“

Mercedes-Benz performed very well in the volatile market environment of Europe with sales of 327,988 vehicles in the first half of the year (+4.2%). The brand won market shares in many markets in June as well. Since the beginning of the year the company posted particularly strong sales growth in UK (+15.0%), Belgium (+19.6%), Russia (+19.9%) and Turkey (+75.1%). In Germany, Mercedes-Benz delivered 124,324 vehicles to customers
(-3.3%) in the first half, thus developing better than the significantly declining overall market (-8.1%). With a market share of nearly 10% in June, Mercedes-Benz once again defended its position as the most registered premium brand in Germany.

The last six months developed particularly satisfactorily in the USA where, with sales of 141,950 units, Mercedes-Benz was more successful than ever before in its largest sales market (+10.4%). The brand also posted strong increases in Latin America, and grew sales in Brazil by 51.7% and in Argentina by 95.1%.

In the Asia/Pacific region, Mercedes-Benz posted stable growth in the first half (+6.7%), due in particular to sales in Japan (+26.5%) and India (+16.4%). The brand’s sales are also developing very strongly in China (incl. Hong Kong), where Mercedes-Benz posted a double-digit growth in June (+16.0%) and achieved sales of 19,549 vehicles. Since the beginning of the year 98,914 cars have been delivered to customers. Just a few weeks ago, Daimler AG again underlined the importance of the Chinese market and has been strengthening it with a proprietary functional unit for China at central sales.

The new compacts of Mercedes-Benz were in special demand in the first half of 2013 with total deliveries of 173,362 vehicles of the A-Class, B-Class and the CLA coupe (+58.0%).

The new E-Class family is also meeting with enthusiastic response from customers. In June, already 21,910 sedans and estates were delivered to customers (+5.0%). In the beginning of June, the coupe and cabrio also promptly opened the summer season in the European markets. The two variants are among the ‘dream cars’ with the star, a general term used by the brand for its coupe, cabrio and roadster models series. Overall, since the beginning of the year, already 85,000 dream cars were handed over to customers, which corresponds to a market share of around 50% compared to the core competitors.

Mercedes-Benz will celebrate the dealer premiere of its new flagship in Germany in a few weeks: On July 20th the new S-Class will be brought into the showrooms for the first time. Even before market launch, 20,000 orders have already been received. Just recently, the luxury sedan of Mercedes-Benz won two first places in the Automotive Brand Contest 2013, and is thus distinguished as “Best of the Best“ in the categories of Exterior Design and Interior Design.

Sales for the SUVs from the brand with the star again grew significantly in the first half of 2013 to 156,055 units (+21.4%). The GL, which has sold more than 250,000 times since its market launch in 2006, posted a sales record with 35.1% growth in the last six months. The M-Class is the best-selling vehicle of its class with nearly 60,000 customer deliveries since the beginning of the year. The GLK is also becoming increasingly popular with customers (+32.2% since the beginning of the year). Just recently, the compact SUV was ranked first in its class in the J. D. Power IQS Study (Initial Quality Study), in which the market research company measures the delivery quality of new vehicles after a 90-day holding period.

The compact two-seater smart fortwo also won first place in the prestigious J. D. Power Quality Study in the “City Car“ category. The smart fortwo was delivered to customers 51,867 times since the beginning of the year (-6.7%).

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Detail: Mercedes-Benz sells more vehicles than ever before in the first half of 2013

0 Mercedes-Benz continues on growth course in May 2013

Mercedes-Benz again grew its unit sales in May with vehicle deliveries to customers that are unprecedented for the month of May (121,360 units, +7.3%). The Stuttgart based manufacturer also posted a new sales record for the period since the beginning of the year with 562,824 units sold (+5.9%). The brand with the star grew strongly, especially in the NAFTA region, Russia and the Asian markets as well as in Western Europe. This success was mainly due to the new Mercedes-Benz compacts and the SUVs.

“We are continuing the positive sales trend in May as well“, said Dr Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales and Marketing. “We are posting solid increases in many markets in Europe and Asia, as well as in the USA, at a time, when the new E-Class and the CLA are just entering the big markets.“

Mercedes-Benz delivered 57,759 vehicles in Europe in May (+4,9%) and thus gained market shares in all big markets. The main sales drivers were the UK (+17.3%) and the growth markets Russia (+13.8%) and Turkey (+93.9%). In the home market of Germany, which is generally declining (total market -9.9%), Mercedes-Benz grew its market share to over 9% and with sales of 22,382 vehicles successfully defended its top position as the most registered premium manufacturer (prior year 23,610 units).

In the USA, the Mercedes-Benz brand again posted a new record with 24,713 vehicles sold in May (+9.8%) and maintained its rank as the top-selling premium manufacturer since the beginning of the year.

In the Asia/Pacific region, Mercedes-Benz established itself as market leader among importers in Japan with unit sales growth of 60.4%. Business was also good in China (incl. Hong Kong): With sales of 17,684 units Mercedes-Benz posted a plus of 7.0% in May, thus continuing the positive trend of the previous months.

Among the model series, business increased, primarily due to the compacts with the star, with May deliveries of 31,770 vehicles of the A-Class and B-Class, as well as the new model CLA (+65.6%). In early May, the compact coupe was voted as “Germany’s Most Beautiful Car“ by readers of the automotive magazine “Auto Bild“. After winning the award with the new A-Class last year, Mercedes-Benz is now the all-around winner of this renowned beauty contest for the fifth consecutive time.

The “dream cars“ of the Mercedes-Benz brand are also in particular demand. The brand uses the term to bundle its coupe, convertible and roadster model series, which not only dominate the brand image but at more than 10% also contribute a significant share of car sales. Overall, about 70,000 “dream cars“ have been handed over to customers since the beginning of the year. In doing so, Mercedes-Benz achieved a market share of about 50% compared to its German core competitors.

Mercedes-Benz has achieved a market share of around 50% for coupes, convertibles and roadsters in the premium segment.

The SUVs with the star continued to build on their success in previous months with May deliveries of 25,710 vehicles from the SUV segment to customers (+14.5%). Since January the M-Class sold 18.6% units more than in the previous years’ period and thus continues to maintain its leadership in the segment worldwide.

Mercedes-Benz celebrated the world premiere of the new S-Class in mid-May. The flagship of the brand was showcased to around 750 international guests from politics, business and the media on the runway of the delivery center of the Airbus 380. With its top levels of safety, comfort, luxury and efficiency the S-Class is generally acknowledged as the technological guiding star of automotive development and the epitome of state-of-the art luxury sedans. With over 500,000 vehicles sold, the predecessor S-Class series have enjoyed great popularity since their market launch in 2005. The new S-Class will celebrate its premiere at dealers in Germany in July.

The compact two-seater smart sold 43,052 units worldwide since the beginning of the year (prior year 45,996 units). In particular in the UK and Japan, the city runabout managed to win many new customers in its seventh year of availability as well.

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Detail: Mercedes-Benz continues on growth course in May 2013

0 Mercedes-Benz raises April 2013 sales by 11.7% to a new record high

Mercedes-Benz delivered 116,566 vehicles to customers in April (+11.7%), more than in any previous April. Unit sales since the beginning of the year totaled 441,464 vehicles (+5.6%). The brand with the star was able to grow strongly, especially in the NAFTA region, Russia and the Asian markets. In April, Mercedes-Benz also posted double-digit sales in Europe, gained market shares, and secured its market leadership in several markets at the same time. On the domestic market Mercedes-Benz maintained its position as the premium manufacturer with the highest new vehicle registrations, holding a market share of 9.6% in April and 9.4% per April. The new Mercedes-Benz compacts and SUVs posted significant new growth and the launches of the new E-Class models and the CLA were very successful.

„April was a very successful month for the Mercedes-Benz brand. We again posted new records in many growth markets and are thus continuing the positive sales trend“, said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales and Marketing. „We are particularly pleased that we are growing in the difficult market environment in Europe and have gained market shares in many markets. Our new products are enjoying an excellent response from our customers, and we are already feeling the first sales impetus from the new E-Class and the CLA.“

Mercedes-Benz sold 56,988 vehicles in Europe in April, thus achieving growth of 11.8%. The brand posted significant gains particularly in Russia (+18.1%) and Turkey (+78.5%), as well as in the UK (+14.5%), France (+19.8%) and Belgium (+11.1%). Also in Germany the brand with the star posted growth (+6.3%) and secured its market leadership among the premium manufacturers with a market share of 9.6% in April.

In the USA, Mercedes-Benz again posted a new sales record with 23,635 vehicles sold (+5.8%) and was once more the premium manufacturer with the highest new vehicle registrations. April sales also moved very strongly in Latin America with more than twice as many vehicles sold than in the same month of the prior year.

The growth in the Asia/Pacific region was driven mainly by Japan (+47.3%) and South Korea (+42.4%). The start into the second quarter was also positive in China (incl. Hong Kong), where Mercedes-Benz posted 10.7% growth with sales of 16,241 units, thus continuing the positive trend of the preceding month.

Among the model series of the Mercedes-Benz brand, the new compacts continued to sell especially well with deliveries of 107,488 units of the A-Class, B-Class and the CLA (+52.0%) since the beginning of the year. The A-Class celebrated its market premiere at the Shanghai Auto Show in China two weeks ago and is now also available on the Chinese market. The popularity of the A-Class on its domestic market was proven in April by a poll of the Europe-wide online car market AutoScout24. About 223,000 users in eight European countries voted and elected the Mercedes-Benz A-Class the “Best Car” from 55 new releases in 2012. The third model of the new compacts, the CLA, had its launch in mid April amidst enthusiastic customer reviews. With the coupe’s positioning as a sports car, Mercedes-Benz is targeting a young, lifestyle-oriented target group to attract new customers for the brand with the star.

The new E-Class also celebrated its premiere at European dealers few weeks ago and is meeting with an excellent response from customers. Overall, 17,379 E-Class sedans and estates were sold in April (+4.3%). The CLS also posted significant gains (+6.5%) and was the market leader in its comparative class in April.

The demand for the SUVs with the star is consistently high. Since January, 103,492 units were delivered to customers, 28.5% more compared to the prior-year period. The SUVs set yet another sales record in April (26,265 units, +22.5%).

The compact two-seater smart delivered 34,372 units to customers since the beginning of the year (prior year: 36,532 units). In its seventh year of sales, it is thus nearly constant at the prior-year level. In April, the Chinese government gave the go-ahead for the smart electric drive, which made smart the first European importer to offer a fully electric vehicle in the Middle Kingdom. In Germany, the smart electric drive advanced in a record short time to become the market leader among the pure battery-electric vehicles (BEVs).

Overview of global sales in March 2013

Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2013, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

Detail: Mercedes-Benz raises April 2013 sales by 11.7% to a new record high