Record Sales from the start: Mercedes-Benz posts new all-time high in January

Mercedes-Benz has started 2012 with record sales for the month of January. The brand sold a total of 86,921 units worldwide, thus exceeding the previous year’s record by another 5.1 per cent.

Sales in the Mercedes-Benz Cars division also
reached a new high
in January by handing over 94,526 passenger cars of the Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach brands to customers (+5.8 per cent).

Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice-President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars, said, “We continued the positive development from the record year 2011 in January and started successfully into the new year. We intend to maintain this pace over the coming months and are expecting substantial sales growth in the first quarter. The new B-class in particular is getting an excellent response from customers. The imminent production start-up in Kecskemet means that we will have even more vehicles at our disposal, which will allow us to even better accommodate the high demand.”

In addition to the B-class, in 2012, the company is expecting further tailwind among others from the sustained high demand in the C-class segment, continued growth in SUV sales and the launch of the new
A-class and the CLS Shooting Brake.

Dr. Schmidt continued, “This year, we want to exceed our record sales from 2011 and once again plan to achieve the best year in the company’s history.”

In the USA Mercedes-Benz achieved a very strong start into the year with record sales in January. With 20,306 units sold, sales increased by 23.8 per cent. Thus, Mercedes-Benz was the most successful premium brand in January in the U.S. The brand also enjoyed a very positive performance in Canada, where it was the market leader in the premium segment in January. After record sales in the full year 2011, deliveries in January reached a new monthly high with1,773 units (+26.5 per cent). Mercedes-Benz repeated this success in Mexico (+22.4 per cent) and the entire NAFTA region, where the brand increased its sales by 24 per cent in January to 22,660 units.

Mercedes-Benz also started with an excellent performance into the new year in its home market. With brand sales of 12,627 vehicles, corresponding a growth of 14 per cent, Mercedes-Benz underlined its position as the strongest premium brand in Germany as it did in 2011 as a whole. This development was driven in particular by the high demand for the new B-class, which led its segment in the new vehicle registration statistics of Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA) in January. At 21,578 units, Mercedes-Benz’ sales in Western Europe (excluding Germany) were over previous year’s level (+1.4 per cent).

Due to the excellent sales performance in December 2011 as well as the capacity expansion at BBAC and the associated production downtime, in China some models were just partially available in January. Overall sales (incl. Hong Kong) totaled 14,463 units (-7 per cent). As in full-year 2011, Mercedes-Benz generated record sales in the growth markets Russia (+41.7 per cent) and India (+17 per cent).

The S-class sedan was the best-selling vehicle in its segment in 2011. In January, the flagship of the Mercedes-Benz brand developed excellently, too. A total of 5,302 units (+0.4 per cent) were delivered to customers. Also a very positive start to the year saw the C-class sedan. With 18,235 units sold, deliveries were up 4.3 per cent compared to the first month of the previous year. On the road to success is also the C-class estate, whose sales in January rose by 10.8 per cent.

The new B-class also enjoyed a strong January with sales rising by 7.8 per cent. The company expects to see a further sales boost over the coming months with the first of a total of five new compact models. From the second quarter, the B-class will be fully available in other markets as a result of the additional production in Kecskemet.

Among the SUVs, the new M-class (+15.2 per cent), the G-Class (+17.1 per cent), and the GL-class (+9.6 per cent) enjoyed especially positive development. There was even more reason for the new M-class to celebrate at the start of the year: It was chosen best in its category within the 'Best Cars of 2012' awards voted by readers of the German car magazine 'auto, motor und sport'. The Mercedes-Benz G-class took second place.

 

The smart fortwo started the year with a brilliant increase in its January sales by 13.7 per cent to a total of 7,605 vehicles. Once again, the two-seater was particularly successful in China (incl. Hong Kong), where 1,464 vehicles were handed over to customers. Sales in the U.S. also developed very positively, rising by 38.5 per cent compared to the same period of the previous year. The smart fortwo also enjoyed increased demand in the UK (+52.8 per cent), Spain (+47.4 per cent), and Mexico (+9.0 per cent). In 2012, the smart will get further positive momentum from two highlights: the smart ebike and the third generation of the smart fortwo electric drive.

Mercedes-Benz cars: Sales at a glance

	January 2012	January 2011	Change in %
Mercedes-Benz	86,921	82,678	+5.1
smart	7,605	6,691	+13.7
Mercedes-Benz Cars	94,526	89,369	+5.8
Mercedes-Benz sales in the individual markets
Western Europe	34,205	32,357	+5.7
- thereof Germany	12,627	11,078	+14
NAFTA	22,660	18,271	+24
- thereof USA	20,306	16,400	+23.8
Asia/Pacific	23,514	24,761	-5
- thereof Japan	2,109	1,552	+35.9
- thereof China	14,463	15,556	-7

Posted in: Mercedes-Benz,Sale Report