Mercedes-Benz starts 2015 with record sales

Mercedes-Benz Cars kicks off in 2015 with record sales across all three main automotive brands of the company - Mercedes-Benz, Mercedes-AMG and smart. The division sold 125,865 in the first month of the year. The sales figures did a particularly good performance in the USA, China and Germany, where the combined growth reached almost 10%. The top performers were the new C-Class in its two declinations, the luxury limousine S-Class, as well as the compact lineup consisting of the A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-Class. The newly revamped smart portfolio, which got its market launch back in November 2014, posted an impressive boost of near 30% year-to-date (YTD), thus paving the way to a strong performance in the future for the city car brand of Mercedes-Benz Cars. For more information, check out the press release posted below.

OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

- Best start of the year in the company's history for Mercedes-Benz with 125,865 vehicles sold in January (+13.6%)

- Ola K�llenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales: "We have started the 'year of the SUVs' at Mercedes-Benz with a sales increase of 37% in this segment."

- Increase of unit sales in all core markets, record sales in the two biggest markets USA (+8.9%) and China (+14.5%), strong growth in Germany (+11.4%)

- Over 50% more deliveries of C-Class Sedans and Estates than in the same month of the previous year

- smart increases unit sales with new models by nearly 30% compared to the previous year�s month; growth of over 60% in Germany.

Stuttgart, Germany, Feb 06, 2015 � Mercedes-Benz follows up on the success of the previous year and has started 2015 with record sales of 125,865 vehicles. Thus, 13.6% more Mercedes-Benz models were sold than in the same month of the previous year. In January, smart also posted a solid sales growth of 29.9%.

"We have started the 'year of the SUVs' at Mercedes-Benz with a sales increase of 37% in this segment", said Ola K�llenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. "In 2015 we will continue last year�s momentum with new products across all segments: in the high-end with the Mercedes-Maybach S 600 and in the microcar-segment with the new smart fortwo and smart forfour, which are highly popular among our customers. January unit sales of the new smart models increased by nearly 30% in comparison to the previous year�s month."

The European market continues to develop positively for Mercedes-Benz with a 14.5% sales increase to 47,693 vehicles. Particularly high growth rates were achieved in the UK (+20.4%), Italy (+16.3%), Spain (+47.4%) and France (+22.1%). In the toughly competitive German market, 11.4% more vehicles were sold than in the same month of the previous year (15,503 units), and additional market shares were gained. Mercedes-Benz is thus expanding its market leadership among the premium manufacturers in the domestic market.

In the NAFTA region, a total of 27,621 models were sold (+9.6%) � more than ever before. With sales of 24,619 vehicles, a sales record was achieved in the USA (+8.9%). A new record was also posted in Canada with a sales increase of 8.2%.

The Asia-Pacific region achieved a sales record of 46,269 vehicles (+16.4%), of which 28,080 Mercedes-Benz models were delivered to customers in China (+14.5%). A sales record was posted not only in China but also in Japan, where Mercedes-Benz holds the market leadship among the premium manufacturers.

In contrast to the general market forecast, Mercedes-Benz unit sales in Russia were up by 16.2% in January. However, it remains to be seen how the difficult economic situation will affect Mercedes-Benz sales in Russia during the rest of the year.

The compact cars of Mercedes-Benz continue to enjoy great popularity, which enabled a 24% sales increase in January. A total of 33,719 customers received their new A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-Class vehicles in January. The CLA Shooting Brake, which is the fifth member of the compact car family, will celebrate its market launch in March.

The C-Class Sedan and Estate were particularly successful in January. Sales of the two models are over 50% higher than in the same month of the previous year. Overall, some 31,959 C-Class Sedans and Estates were handed over to customers.

At the beginning of the year, the S-Class did not only win the hearts of "auto, motor und sport" readers, who voted the model as the best car in the luxury class. Unit sales of the best-selling luxury automobile in the world climbed by 9.2% to a new record high of 8,111 units.

The SUV boom has led to a 37% sales growth in this segment. The GLK- as well as the GL- and G-Class posted new sales records in January.

The new smart models launched in November 2014 are enjoying an excellent reception from customers. In January, unit sales increased to 8,457 smart fortwo and forfour models, which marks a 29.9% increase compared to the previous year�s month. Sales on the German domestic market grew by more than 60%.

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

Source: Daimler AG

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