Mercedes-Benz’s five largest markets last year were China, Germany and the USA followed by Great Britain and South Korea.
09 Jan 2020 | 24821 Views | By Autocar Professional Bureau
German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has announced its sales numbers for 2019: at 2,339,562 units delivered worldwide, it is the ninth consecutive record year for the company and marks year-on-year growth of 1.3%. Mercedes-Benz also maintains its leading position among the luxury car brands for the fourth year in a row.
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German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz has announced its sales numbers for 2019: at 2,339,562 units delivered worldwide, it is the ninth consecutive record year for the company and marks year-on-year growth of 1.3%. Mercedes-Benz also maintains its leading position among the luxury car brands for the fourth year in a row.
In all three of its main markets – China, Germany and the USA – the Stuttgart-based brand with the three-pointed star surpassed the high levels of the previous year. China, Mercedes-Benz’s largest market, remained the main growth driver, with sales of 693,443 units representing an increase of 6.2% and a new record year. Last year’s model offensive with a total of more than 10 new or revised models led to a significant boost in unit sales, particularly of compact cars and SUVs, and contributed to the overall sales growth.
In full year 2019, Mercedes-Benz says it maintained its market leadership in the luxury segment in Germany, Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada and South Africa.
Ola Källenius, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, said: “The ninth consecutive record year underscores once more the strong demand for Mercedes-Benz vehicles, even amidst far-reaching changes in the mobility landscape. In addition, Mercedes-Benz continues to be clearly the number one in the luxury market – this proves how valuable our brand is. 2019 was a year of great challenges for the automotive industry. The next two years will also be characterized more than ever by the transformation of our industry. In this challenging environment, we intend to further increase our unit sales and set the course for long-term competitiveness. With investments in new technologies and profitable sales growth, we are paving the way for Mercedes-Benz to lead the global luxury market as a pioneer of sustainable luxury also in an era of CO2-neutral mobility.”
Mercedes-Benz’s five largest markets last year were China, Germany and the USA followed by Great Britain and South Korea. The Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star finished the year with the highest annual unit sales in its history, as well as its best quarter ever (614,319 units, +3.2%). In the fourth quarter of 2019, Mercedes-Benz sold for the first time more than 600,000 cars within a quarter. In the month of December, 205,968 vehicles were sold and therefore the high prior-year level was almost achieved (-0.3%).
APAC achieves best-ever sales, China biggest driver of global sales growth
In the Asia-Pacific sales region, a new record was achieved in 2019 with 977,922 units sold (+3.7%). In fact, more Mercedes-Benz vehicles were delivered in China than in any other market globally. A total of 693,443 cars were handed over to customers in China, an increase of more than 40,000 units compared with the previous year and a new record (+6.2%). Hereby, the strong product offensive, the localization strategy and the customer-centric operation remained key success factors in China; more than three-quarters of the vehicles sold there came directly from local production last year. China has been Mercedes-Benz’s largest sales market since 2015, with total annual unit sales almost doubling between 2015 and 2019. In South Korea, the second-largest market in the Asia-Pacific region, deliveries reached a new record high of 78,048 vehicles in 2019 (+8.7%). Sales also reached a new high in Vietnam.
Sales in Europe slightly above 2018 level, significant growth in Germany
In the Europe region, a total of 937,881 cars were delivered in 2019 – slightly above the high prior-year level (+0.4%). In Germany, its domestic market, Mercedes-Benz was able to surpass the previous year’s figure by more than 14,000 units due to sales growth of Compact Cars and SUVs, delivering 318,353 vehicles in the full year (+4.8%). This was the highest sales volume in Germany in the past 10 years. In addition to Germany, Great Britain and France followed by Italy and Spain, are among the largest sales markets in the Europe region. In 2019, Mercedes-Benz set new sales records in countries including Switzerland, Poland, Denmark and Hungary.
372,100 cars sold in NAFTA region, down 1.64%
In the NAFTA region, 372,144 new Mercedes-Benz vehicles were delivered to customers between January and December (-1.64%). Despite a challenging market situation, 316,094 vehicles in the USA were sold and the high prior-year level surpassed by 135 units (+0.0%). In the second half of the year, Mercedes-Benz increased its deliveries in the USA in five out of six months. An increase in unit sales was therefore achieved in the fourth quarter (+1.7%). In Canada, Mercedes-Benz maintains its position as the top luxury car brand for the sixth consecutive year.
Every third Mercedes-Benz vehicle sold in 2019 was an SUV
With sales of about 783,700 units the GLA, GLB, GLC, GLC Coupé, EQC], GLE, GLE Coupé, GLS and G-Class, the SUVs were Mercedes-Benz’s strongest-selling segment in 2019 (-4.5%). Since August 2019, deliveries have increased every month, driven by the new GLC and GLE. The GLC was once again the best-selling SUV in the model portfolio in 2019. Last year, the G-Class was able to improve on its record sales of 2017 by more than 13,000 units: 34,912 delivered vehicles resulted in a strong sales increase of more than 60%. The previous sales record set in 2017 was already surpassed in August 2019.
Compact cars record strong growth
In 2019, every fourth Mercedes-Benz sold was a compact car: More than 667,000 units of the A- and B-Class, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA and GLB were delivered last year (+9.5%). This represents an increase of more than 30,000 unit sales when compared to the prior record established in 2016.
C-Class: More than 392,900 deliveries
Approximately 392,900 units of the C-Class sedan and Estate were delivered in 2019 (-0.9 %). The C-Class sedan achieved growth particularly in the Asia-Pacific region and a new record (+8.5%). In South Korean, deliveries grew by a double-digit rate. Sales of the long-wheelbase version of the model in China increased by 9% last year to a new record level. Since its market launch in 1982, then still under the name Mercedes-Benz 190, more than ten million C-Class Saloon and Estate cars have been sold worldwide.
E-Class sets new sales record in APAC
More than 351,000 units of the E-Class sedan and Estate were delivered to customers in the third full year of sales of the new generation (-1.3 %). The importance of China as the most important market for the Mercedes-Benz saloon models is clearly reflected by the E-Class: The long-wheelbase version of the E-Class Saloon set a new sales record with double-digit growth. Every second E-Class Saloon sold worldwide in 2019 was delivered as a long-wheelbase version in China. In South Korea, the E-Class Saloon achieved its highest annual sales so far. And the E-Class Estate recorded an increase of 5.0% in deliveries in Germany.
S-Class: The world’s best-selling luxury sedan
The S-Class sedan was the best-selling luxury saloon in the world last year. Six years after the launch of the current generation of the S-Class Saloon, sales of about 71,700 units in 2019 remained at a very high level (-8.0%). Deliveries increased above all in China. The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Saloon is very popular. As a model of the Mercedes-Maybach brand, it is an automobile offering exclusive luxury and the utmost comfort. The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Saloon set a new sales record in 2019, driven in particular by its success in China and double-digit growth in that market.
Strong double-digit growth for CLS Coupé
At Mercedes-Benz, all roadsters, convertibles and coupés are grouped under the heading Dream Cars. More than 163,600 of these vehicles were delivered worldwide in 2019 (-1,1%). The main markets of the roadsters, convertibles and coupés with the three-pointed star were the USA, and Germany, followed by Great Britain in 2019. The best-selling members of the Dream Car family last year were the C-Class Coupé, followed by the CLS Coupé. The CLS Coupé was the growth driver for the Dream Cars in 2019 and achieved strong double-digit sales growth worldwide. Especially in South Korea the sales volume of the four-door Coupé doubled.
Increased sales of V-Class and X-Class in 2019
With an increase of 1.2% to about 63,500 units delivered in 2019, the V-Class achieved a new sales record. The revised version of the multipurpose vehicle had its world premiere in January 2019. Demand for the V-Class was particularly strong last year from customers in Germany, where the largest absolute growth and a new sales record were achieved. Further V-Class records were set in Great Britain, Russia and Switzerland. Sales increased also in China, the most important market for the V-Class outside Europe, almost on the high level of the previous year. Approximately 15,300 units of the X-Class pickup were sold worldwide in 2019. The largest markets for the pickup with the three-pointed star were Germany, Great Britain, Australia and South Africa; double-digit growth and record unit sales were achieved in each of those countries.
Mercedes-AMG: Highest unit sales yet
The high-performance and sports-car brand Mercedes-AMG achieved a new record year in 2019 with 132,136 units sold and double-digit growth of 11.8%. The Affalterbach-based company achieved its highest sales figures in history also in Great Britain and Japan. Mercedes-AMG’s largest markets in 2019 were the USA, Germany and Great Britain, followed by China and Japan.