Mercedes-Benz posts best-selling month ever
“We are continuing the success story of the record year 2013 with additional new products and have posted the best-ever first-quarter sales in the company’s history", said Ola Kelleners, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars responsible for Marketing & Sales. “We have been posting double-digit growth rates for sales in every month since the beginning of the year. We expect added impetus from the new C-Class and the compact SUV GLA, which have been taking over the roads of Europe in the last few weeks."
The company sold 76,587 vehicles in Europe in March (+7.6%). The main growth driver was the UK (+19.8%). On the German domestic market Mercedes-Benz was again the most registered premium brand in Germany with sales of 25,544 units (+1.0%).
In the USA, Mercedes-Benz has delivered 27,401 vehicles to customers (+11.2%) with record-high sales numbers in its biggest sales market both in March and for the entire first quarter, and particularly high growth rates for the S-Class.
The growth rates achieved by Mercedes-Benz in March were especially high in the Asian markets: In China (incl. Hong Kong), the company is continuing the sustained growth trend of recent months with sales of 24,937 vehicles (+34.0%). The E-Class long version from local production was in particularly high demand.
Mercedes-Benz posted new sales records in Japan as well: Since the beginning of the year, the brand with the star has delivered 17,807 units (+50.3%) and thus continues to be the most registered premium brand in Japan.
The compacts with the star are going forward with their positive development: In March, Mercedes-Benz sold 43,389 vehicles of the A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-Class (+26.4%). The compact SUV, GLA, which has been available at European dealers since mid-March, is winning new customers. The new C-Class also came on the market in March. The two models have proved to be crowd pullers: Alone during the weekend of their premiere, European dealers’ showrooms welcomed 500,000 visitors who tried out the new models in more than 22,000 test drives.
In the first quarter, Mercedes-Benz handed over 62,169 E-Class sedans and estate to customers worldwide (+38.0%). A fourth of the sedans are ordered as a long version. The E-Class coupe and convertible are posting double-digit growth rates at the start of spring.
Sales of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class totaled 24,144 units in the first quarter, or twice the units sold in the previous year’s period. The strong growth is also supported by the high demand in China, where Mercedes-Benz is selling every fourth S-Class.
The demand for the brand’s SUV is also unbroken: Customer deliveries came to 33,690 units in March alone (+9.6%), and a total of 81,397 vehicles were sold since the beginning of the year (+5.4%).