Mercedes-Benz in Record August Performance, Selling 155,918 Vehicles

• Mercedes-Benz in Record August Performance, Selling 155,918 Vehicles

Mercedes-Benz said it delivered 1,512,268 vehicles to customers worldwide in the first eight months of this year, thus setting a new record of 1.1 per cent.

Nigeria, where Mercedes-Benz has been one of the top premium brands, expectedly contributed significantly to the global performance, although details were not given in the new report.

The luxury automaker specifically said it sold 155,918 vehicles worldwide in August, making it the 30th consecutive month it would record global sales of more than 150,000 units. It attributed the performance to the ongoing strong demand for cars with the three-pointed star.

“Never before in the company’s history were sales of 1.5 million vehicles achieved earlier in the year,” the automaker said in a statement released on Monday.

Britta Seeger, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz cars marketing and sales, was quoted as saying, “I’m delighted that Mercedes-Benz reached the mark of 1.5 million cars delivered earlier than ever in the year. As a strong team, we will continue to work on meeting the ongoing high demand for our vehicles, also again in terms of delivery.

“And with the EQC, we have presented the first fully-electric Sport Utility Vehicle of our EQ product and technology brand to the world public in Stockholm. We will set additional markers and impulses in the market with the EQC.”

According to the premium brand manufacturer, a new record was set by its SUVs in the first eight months of this year, delivering a total of 541,120 SUVs which it noted as recording an increase of 5.4 per cent.

“An important driver of this growth was the global popularity of the GLC and GLC Coupés. The sales success of the midsize SUVs from Mercedes-Benz will be continued with the EQC, which had its world premiere in Stockholm as the first fully electric SUV from the EQ product and technology brand,” it stated.

It said in Europe, Mercedes-Benz sold 54,989 vehicles in August, adding that in the first eight months of the year, its sales totalled 597,347 units.

“In Germany, the domestic market, Mercedes-Benz delivered 21,442 vehicles with the three-pointed star in August and a total of 195,163 cars were handed over to customers in Germany in the first eight months of this year,” it stated.

It also said more Mercedes-Benz cars were sold in the first eight months than ever before in that period in France, Spain, Sweden, Poland and Denmark.

It added that in the Asia-Pacific region, demand for Mercedes-Benz models in the first eight months of the year led to a new record of 639,184 units sold. It recalled that the brand delivered 72,342 vehicles in that region last month, said to be slightly below the prior-year level

It said in China, considered the biggest market, a new high for an August was achieved with sales of 53,295 cars, adding, “So far this year, 446,075 vehicles have been handed over to customers – more than ever before in the first eight months of a year.

“Mercedes-Benz achieved additional sales records for the first eight months also in Japan, India, Thailand and Malaysia.”

A total of 24,538 vehicles were delivered to customers in a section of the North America called NAFTA last month, the report said; just as it showed a total of 240,671 Mercedes-Benz cars were sold in the period of January to August in the region.

Mercedes-Benz delivered 199,215 vehicles in the USA in that period and 20,339 in August. The brand with the star defended its market leadership in the US premium segment in the first eight months. Thanks to strong growth in Mexico, Mercedes-Benz once again achieved record unit sales in that market for an August and for the first eight months,” it stated.

Two models, the E-Class Saloon and Estate, were said to have set a new record with sales of 25,367 units last month.

It said, “Since the market launch of the current models, more than 700,000 customers worldwide have been delighted to receive their new E-Class Saloon or Estate.

“Mercedes-Benz increased its sales of the S-Class Saloon in August by 30.3 per cent to 5,254 units. From January to August, more than 53,000 units of the S-Class Saloon were sold. Thanks to a double-digit growth rate worldwide, the Mercedes-Maybach S-Class Saloon achieved its highest unit sales so far in the first eight months of a year.”