The FINANCIAL — Following the best-selling quarter in its history so far, Mercedes-Benz achieved record unit sales once again in October. The brand with the three-pointed star started the fourth quarter with worldwide sales of 155,189 vehicles and growth of 10.1% in October. In the first ten months of the year, 1,531,541 vehicles were delivered to customers, surpassing the record set in the prior-year period by 14.6%.
“In China, we already surpassed our unit sales of 2014 in October. Our SUVs are especially popular there, above all the GLK; half of all those cars sold this year have gone to customers in China. We expect even stronger growth from that model’s successor, the GLC”, stated Ola Källenius, 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 sold 659,106 units in the first ten months of the year (+10.8%). Sales in October climbed to a new record (65,390 units, +7.8%), partially due to the launch of the GLC. In Germany, 24,227 vehicles were delivered to customers last month (+1.9%). This means that Mercedes-Benz continues to be the market leader amongst the premium manufacturers in the home market. Growth in October was particularly strong in Spain (+29.4%) and Italy (+25.0%). In Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal and Switzerland, more cars were sold than ever before in one month. In Spain, Russia and Switzerland Mercedes-Benz is the premium brand with the highest number of new registrations.
In the NAFTA region, 33,297 customers received their new Mercedes-Benz vehicle in October (+1.8%). Since the beginning of the year 320,186 units were sold there – an increase of 7.9%. In the first ten months of the year, more cars than ever were delivered to customers in the USA (+6.5%), Canada (+18.3%) and Mexico (+17.4%). In the biggest NAFTA market, the USA, sales in the period of the first ten months rose to 278,842 vehicles. Mercedes-Benz gained the market leadership amongst the premium manufacturers in Canada.
New highs were achieved in the Asia-Pacific region in both October and the first ten months of the year. Since the beginning of the year unit sales increased by more than a quarter to 497,914 vehicles. In China, the total number of cars sold in 2014 was already surpassed in October, with 299,375 vehicles delivered to customers in the first ten months of the year (+32.1%). This was partially due to another sales record in October, with an increase of 42.9% to 33,088 units. In Japan, 53,616 vehicles were sold in the last ten months (+11.7%). Mercedes-Benz is the market leader amongst the premium manufacturers in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, according to Daimler.
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model
The compact cars from Mercedes-Benz set new records in both October and the first ten months: 477,370 models of the A- or B-Class, the GLA, CLA or CLA Shooting Brake were handed over to customers since the beginning of the year (+27.2%). The A-Class is primarily responsible for the success of the Mercedes-Benz compact car family. In Europe, two out of three new A-Class customers previously drove a car from a competitor. Since its market launch in September 2012, more than 500,000 units of the new generation have been delivered worldwide.
Demand for the C-Class Saloon and Estate is as high as ever. In October, a new high was reached of 36,799 vehicles sold (+15.6%). Unit sales in the first ten months increased by 54.0% compared with the prior-year period (369,090 units). Never before have so many units of the C-Class been delivered to customers than this year.
The S-Class Saloon continues to be the world’s best-selling luxury saloon. Since the current model’s market launch in 2013, Mercedes-Benz has delivered more than 200,000 units of the S-Class Saloon.
In October, 47,379 customers decided in favour of an SUV from Mercedes-Benz (+26.1%). This record was set with strong contributions from the GLA and the GLC. Just about six months after the start of production of the GLA in Beijing, Mercedes-Benz has started to produce its second all-new localized SUV model in China – the GLC. China is the biggest market for both models.
smart
Worldwide unit sales of the smart fortwo and smart forfour doubled in October, when a total of 10,517 customers decided in favour of this small urban car. Most of those cars were sold in Germany and in Italy. Following the successful start of the new-generation smart in China and the USA, the two-seat and four-seat versions of the city car were also presented in Japan at the Tokyo Motor Show last month.
