German Car Zone

To see sales graph click on link below:

http://www.emercedesbenz.com/Dec05/0...alesInNov.html

The title says it all. Despite somewhat sluggish sales for the Mercedes Car Group in the United States last month, sales of the Mercedes Car Group worldwide didn't fare quite so poorly.

For the month of November, sales of the Mercedes Car Group worldwide rose 1.6% to a record high of 105,200 units, compared to 103,500 last year. Worldwide year-to-date sales for the Mercedes Car Group are also up, increasing 1.2% with 1,094,500 units being sold, compared to 1,081,200 units in 2004.

Inidividually, sales of the Mercedes-Benz brand rose 3% worldwide for the month of November, with 93,500 units being sold; that number is up from 91,000 last year. Year-to-date sales for the Mercedes-Benz brand is also up .7%, increasing sales from 955,300 in 2004 to 961,600 this year.

The increase in sales from the Mercedes-Benz brand can largely be attributed to the success of newly-introduced models. The S-Class' sales rose 44% to 5,900 for the month of November, with strong sales expected to continue when it debuts in the United States next year. The M-Class also performed exceptionally well, increasing sales 70% to 9,500 units.

Unfortunately for the Mercedes Car Group, smart didn't perform quite as well. For the month of November, sales continued their negative decline with 11,700 units being sold, a 6.7% decrease from last November. Despite the decrease, year-to-date sales of the smart brand are still up 5.5% from 2004, with 132,900 units being sold to date.

I think that just about covers all the financial news for the day. If you want to learn more about sales for the Mercedes Car Group last month, you can get all the details in DaimlerChrysler's full press release below.



OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Mercedes Car Group continues Growth Path with Best Ever Sales in November

Stuttgart, Dec 06, 2005

Mercedes Car Group is continuing its growth path with a sales increase for the sixth consecutive month in November. Deliveries of Mercedes-Benz and smart passenger cars increased by 1.6 percent last month to the record level of 105,200 units (November 2004: 103,500).

Worldwide sales through November were up 1.2 percent to 1,094,500 units (Jan.-Nov. 2004: 1,081,200).
Sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars worldwide increased by three percent to 93,500 units (November 2004: 91,000). This development was largely due to the successful launch of the new B , M , R and S-Class models as well as the positive response to the new V6 and V8 engine generation. Mercedes-Benz sales in both Western Europe and the Asia/Pacific region last month were higher than the figures recorded in November 2004. With a slight decline in sales of three percent in the U.S., Mercedes-Benz performed equivalent to the passenger car market as a whole. For the period January-November, a total of 961,600 units were delivered to customers worldwide or 0.7 percent more than the figure recorded during the same period last year (955,300).

S-Class expands global market leadership in the luxury segment

The S-Class further expanded its global market leadership in the luxury segment, with deliveries in November increasing by 44 percent to 5,900 units. Mercedes-Benz is expecting additional sales momentum to be generated in early 2006 by the launch of high-volume diesel models, as well as through the market launch of the new S-Class flagship model in its primary U.S. sales market, and in the UK.

The new M-Class recorded sales growth in all major markets last month, with total sales increasing by 70 percent to 9,200 units in November. Deliveries in the U.S. were up 65 percent last month to 3,000 units. Sales of the new M-Class in Western Europe increased to the record level of 4,700 units last month, making the premium SUV from Mercedes-Benz the best-selling vehicle in its class in that region.

Mercedes-Benz is also gaining new customer groups with its B and R Class sports tourers. Deliveries of the Grand Sports Tourer began in the U.S. a few weeks ago, generating a positive response among customers. The Compact Sports Tourer meanwhile has recorded sales of 46,500 units since the model was launched in June.

smart sales climb 5.5 percent through November

Despite the continued sluggishness of the small-car segment, the number of smart cars delivered to customers between January and November rose by 5.5 percent compared to the same period last year, to 132,900 units. A total of 11,700 units were delivered to customers in the month of November.

Total sales of the smart forfour were up by approximately 37 percent through November, and the four-seater's sales in Italy — the brand’s most important market — more than doubled from the figure posted for the first eleven months of 2004. The smart fortwo continues to display stable development in its seventh year of existence, with sales through November at nearly the same level recorded for the period January-November 2004.

Overview of Mercedes Car Group Sales


Nov 2005 Change in % Jan-Nov 2005 Change in % Mercedes Car Group Worldwide 105,200+1.61,094,500+1.2of which Mercedes-Benz 93,500+2.8961,600+0.7smart**11,700-6.7132,900+5.5 Mercedes Car Group of which Western Europe (excl. Germany) 37,400+17.5390,200+3.9Germany31,600-13.7329,100-5.5United States* 18,300-2.9192,900-0.9Asia/Pacific8,600+5.489,800+7.8

I would like to see the S vs A8 vs 7 nr´s worldwide...

This is more good news about Mercedes-Benz, Yippie!

I can't wait t see what the S-Class does once the diesels start shipping in Europe and the car goes on sale here in the U.S. You can likely add another 5K to that monthly total worldwide.

Then comes the facelifted E, SL and new CL. The comes the new V8s across the board. Then sometime next year we should get a glimpse of the next C-Class.

M

2006 will most likely be a year of consolidation with no major volume product launches apart from the E-facelift right?

I think so other than the new CL, which isn't a "volume' car anyway.

The start of 2007 and the new C should be the next spike.

Hopefully during 2006 Mercedes will finally begin to pull itself off the mat in the quality surveys, especially in the U.S.

That would be the best news of all because if that started happening on a world-wide noticeable basis the sales would be right there.

The only reason a lot of people in the U.S. buy Lexus and others is because of Mercedes new-found rep for poor reliability. I'm already convinced they've seen the light regarding built quality as evidenced by the CLS, SLK and new S. The R/M still leave something to be desired, but they are isolated cases because for some reason MBUSA won't outfit these vehicles by the same suppliers MB uses in Germay. While better than before, the new M still falls short of the competition in build quality.

M

Sales reports incl. numbers of MB and other German car manufacturers are gathered in the next thread HERE. (German car sales: November 2005)

Interesting article. Do you know world wide sales numbers with differentiations by model?