April sales by Mercedes-Benz reached a new high of 192,558 units (+6.6%; record sales in April of more than 68,000 SUVs (+14.0%);·more than 80,000 cars sold in APAC (+17.2%); demand for electric smart models in Europe grows.
26 Jun 2011 | 1197 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is on a roll. In the first three months of this year, Mercedes-Benz posted its strongest-selling quarter of all time and defended its top position in the premium segment.
The company continued with this successful start to the year in April: 192,558 cars were delivered to customers ...
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German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz is on a roll. In the first three months of this year, Mercedes-Benz posted its strongest-selling quarter of all time and defended its top position in the premium segment.
The company continued with this successful start to the year in April: 192,558 cars were delivered to customers around the world (+6.6%), more than ever before at the beginning of a second quarter. Unit sales in the first four months of the year increased to the new high of 786,862 vehicles sold with the three-pointed star (+6.2%). For 62 months in a row, Mercedes-Benz has now posted continuous growth. In several markets, Mercedes-Benz was the premium brand with the most new registrations in April, including Germany, Spain, Sweden, South Korea, Australia, USA, Mexico and Brazil.
“After our most successful quarter, we are keeping up the pace. More than 192,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold in April means not only a growth of 6.6%, but also a new sales record,” stated Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales.
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by region and market
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz posted a new record for unit sales in the first four months of a year and delivered 312,966 cars to its customers (+1.2%). In April, sales of 74,835 units were close to the prior-year level. One-third of all deliveries went to Germany, the biggest European market (25,303 units, +3.0%).
The brand achieved new records in the first four months also in Spain, Sweden, Poland and Portugal – never before were so many cars sold there in this period. Mercedes-Benz also posted the best four months in the emerging market Hungary and achieved a significant double-digit sales growth.
Mercedes-Benz once again achieved double-digit growth in the Asia-Pacific region: With deliveries of 80,243 units, unit sales in April increased to a new record (+17.2%). The biggest contribution to growth came from China, where the number of delivered cars rose by 20.1% to 57,221 units last month. For the first time, the 200,000 mark in unit sales was passed in China within just four months (227,153 units, +18.0%). More than two-thirds of all Mercedes-Benz cars sold there were also produced locally. Mercedes-Benz achieved best-ever figures in the first four months of the year also in South Korea, India, Thailand and Malaysia.
In the NAFTA region, Mercedes-Benz delivered 126,518 cars to customers in the first four months of the year – more than ever before in that period (+0.3%). In April, the brand with the three-pointed star delivered more vehicles in the region than in the prior-year month (33,143 units, +3.4%). In the USA, unit sales increased by 1.0% last month and 27,207 customers were delighted to receive their new Mercedes-Benz. Mercedes-Benz USA und Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA LLC announced the launch of the “Mercedes-Benz Collection,” a subscription service for premium automobiles allowing customers to swap between different vehicles depending on their needs and lifestyles. In cooperation with the Mercedes-Benz dealerships, the service will start in June as a pilot project in two markets: Nashville, TN and Philadelphia, PA. In Canada (+7.4%) and Mexico (+44.2%), Mercedes-Benz actually posted best-ever sales for April.
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model
In April, 68,129 Mercedes-Benz SUVs were sold, which is 14.0% more than in the prior-year month. The new record mainly reflects the strong demand for the GLC, which sales rose by 37.2% in April. Along with the GLC, the GLA is one of the bestselling models in the Mercedes-Benz SUV segment.
The S-Class Sedan recorded a 26.1% increase in unit sales at the beginning of the fourth quarter. 6,977 units of the Mercedes-Benz flagship were delivered in April. Sales of the Mercedes-Maybach rose to a new high last month. At “Auto China 2018” in Beijing, Mercedes-Benz presented the Vision Mercedes-Maybach Ultimate Luxury. The design of the crossover, based on an exclusive high-end saloon and an SUV, follows the philosophy of Sensual Purity.
The A-Class model change is now taking place. Nevertheless, more than 46,000 units of the compact models were delivered to customers worldwide in April. Since the beginning of the year, sales of more than 197,000 units of the A- and B-Class, the CLA, CLA Shooting Brake and GLA were actually above the prior-year level (+0.2%). The new A-Class Compact Sedan has been produced at the plant in Rastatt (Germany) since April and deliveries to customers in Europe started at the beginning of May. Recently, the sixth compact model was presented in Beijing: The new A-Cass Sedan with a long wheelbase is specially tailored to the needs of Chinese customers and is the sixth compact model in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio. The compact-car family will grow to a total of eight models.
smart
The current generation of the smart fortwo has been on the market for four years now. For the third consecutive year, more than 40,000 smart models were sold to customers all over the world in the first four months. In April, the smart brand handed over 10,128 of the smart fortwo and forfour to customers (-7.5%). In Germany, the biggest individual market, the brand increased its unit sales last month. The electric smart models are extremely well received in Europe – never before were more units of these models sold in the first four months of a year.