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Strong Start Into The Year Continues: Mercedes-Benz Posts New Sales Record in February

By | Published Monday, 5 March 2012

After record sales in January, Mercedes-Benz reached new heights in February, to which all regions have contributed, as well . The brand with the star delivered a total of 95,647 units to customers. With an increase of 20.3%, February was the highest-growth month since January 2011. Since the beginning of 2012 sales have risen by 12.6% to 182,568 passenger cars. The company also saw more sales in the Mercedes-Benz Cars division than ever before in the month of February, handing over a total of 104,073 Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach brand vehicles (+20.3%) to their new owners. The sales increase in the last two months amounted to 12.9% (198,599 units).


Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “In February we have further improved the good result of the previous month and again had a record month with a sales increase of 20.3%. Thus, we are well on track to achieve our objective of a new sales record in the first quarter. Particularly well is the development of the new B-Class, which again met excellent customer response in February. Since market launch we have already recorded 100,000 orders. Further momentum will also be gained from the new model series in the coming months.”

Mercedes-Benz enjoyed a strong February with record unit sales in China (incl. Hong Kong). A total of 19,205 customers (+57.5%) in the “Middle Kingdom” opted for a new car with a star. Mercedes-Benz also posted a new sales record (+30.1%) in Russia in February. Particularly dynamic was the growth in Taiwan (+24.9%) and Japan (+31.4%).
In the US, Mercedes-Benz continued its excellent performance of recent months in February. With 18,080 vehicles delivered, unit sales rose by 16.9%. Thus, Mercedes-Benz sold more vehicles than ever before in this period. Also in the rest of the NAFTA countries Mercedes-Benz is on a success track. New sales records were set both in Canada (2,158 units; +18.4%) and Mexico (533 units; +22.8%) in February.
The February performance was also excellent in the Middle East region, with a 17.9% rise in unit sales.

As in January, Mercedes-Benz continued its double-digit sales growth on its domestic market in February with a total of 17,993 customers in Germany choosing a car with a star (+21.6%). Thus, the brand is still the leading premium automaker on its biggest market. With sales growth of 9.3% and unit sales of 19,668 vehicles, Mercedes-Benz also sported a winning performance in Western Europe (excluding Germany) in February. Especially in France (+36.9%) and Switzerland (+46.2%) the Stuttgart car manufacturer saw excellent growth rates. Thus, the brand’s sales in Switzerland have been at a record high since the beginning of the year. Mercedes-Benz also posted a positive trend in the UK (+12.6%).

The new B-Class was especially popular among model series in February with a 8.2% sales increase to 9,902 units. Sales of the C-Class sedan together with the C-Class estate amounted to 22,881 models (+15.2%) in February. The SLK also posted an extremely positive performance in February, more than tripling its unit sales. In the same month, the E-Class sedan and its estate stepped up their sales by 22.0% (19,011 units). The February development of the S-Class was outstanding as well: With a total of 9,482 units (+89.4%), almost twice as many models of the brand’s flagship as in the same month last year were handed over to customers. Thus, the S-Class achieved record sales in February as well as since the beginning of the year.

After the record year 2011, Mercedes-Benz SUV sales are also developing excellently in 2012. Sales were at a record high in February (16,679 units; +3.0%) and since the start of the year (34,856 units; +2.2%). The G-Class climbed by 33.1%, while GL sales rose by 9.2% and the M-Class by 20.5%. Considering that the M-Class is not even fully available on all markets yet due to its gradual launch.

The smart fortwo continued its brilliant start into the year in February. With 8,426 vehicles sold, unit sales again saw double-digit growth (+19.9%). The two-seater continues to attract a great deal of attention, especially among Chinese customers who bought with1,459 units twice as many (+103.2%) vehicles as in February 2011. The smart fortwo was also very popular in the US (+58.9%), in France (+44.3%), and in Italy (+18.5%). The same is true for Germany, where February sales surged by 13.2% to 2,122 units.

Overview of Sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars
Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

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Mercedes-Benz Trucks has a strong position in China: Intensified cooperation with the Chinese construction machinery manufacturer Zoomlion

By | Published Tuesday, 28 February 2012

Within the framework of their partnership in China, Mercedes-Benz Trucks and the Chinese construction machinery manufacturer Zoomlion Heavy Industry are intensifying their cooperation. Last Saturday they signed a letter of intent (LoI) for the delivery of 2,500 Mercedes-Benz trucks. The letter of intent concerns heavy-duty Mercedes-Benz Actros 3341 and 4141 truck models.


The Chinese corporation will receive the vehicles later this year. The 2,500 Mercedes-Benz Actros vehicles will be manufactured at the truck plant in Wörth, where they will also be adapted to Zoomlion’s special applications for concrete pumps.

In 2011 Daimler sold almost 5,800 Mercedes-Benz trucks in China, making it the market leader among the European competitors in China’s import segment. As a result, China is now the world’s six-largest market for the sale of Mercedes-Benz trucks.

Premium trucks adapted to special applications are particularly needed for China’s rapidly growing construction sector. China is currently planning to invest around 7 trillion RMB (more than €800 billion) in building and expanding urban infrastructures between 2011 and 2015.

In a statement, Hubertus Troska, Head of Mercedes-Benz Trucks and the person responsible for Mercedes-Benz Trucks worldwide, underscored the importance of the new contract: “We are very delighted that our Chinese business partner chose Mercedes-Benz trucks for its challenging applications in the construction industry. This letter of intent deepens our partnership with Zoomlion. It confirms the good image of our Mercedes-Benz trucks and the great capabilities of our young Mercedes-Benz Trucks sales organization in China, which helps us strengthen our market presence.”

Zoomlion Heavy Industry, which was founded in 1992, is one of China’s leading manufacturers of construction machinery. Zoomlion specializes in the development and production of advanced technologies and equipment for machine construction, as well as for energy, environmental, and transportation systems. In addition, it sells its products in more than 70 countries worldwide. In recent years, Zoomlion established a particularly strong presence in the market for concrete construction machinery. Zoomlion has a permanent workforce of about 30,000 employees. The company’s headquarters are located in Changsha in the province of Hunan.

Daimler Trucks is pursuing two strategic goals for the Chinese market. In addition to promoting the sale of high-quality Mercedes-Benz trucks in the premium segment, the company will also participate in China’s promising volume market in the future. Slightly more than a week ago, Daimler announced the launch of BFDA (Beijing Foton Daimler Automotive Co., Ltd), its joint venture with the Chinese truck manufacturer Foton. The joint venture gives Daimler a 50 percent stake in Foton’s business with medium and heavy-duty Auman brand trucks. Once the ramp-up phase is completed, BFDA will have a production capacity of 160,000 units.

China’s market volume for medium and heavy-duty trucks has doubled to more than one million units over the past five years. Last year the Chinese market accounted for around 40 percent of the total worldwide sales of medium and heavy-duty trucks.
Credits: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2012, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

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Mercedes-Benz Posts Strong Sales in Japan

By | Published Thursday, 1 December 2011

In spite of the heavy earthquake in March and its serious consequences for the country, sales of Mercedes-Benz vehicles have developed favorably in Japan. Since the beginning of the year, sales have risen by 2.7 percent to 25,858 units, even though the overall market has strongly declined (-21.6%). After sales had fallen by almost 25 percent in March, Mercedes-Benz already registered a slight sales increase in April. The following months, with sales growing at double-digit rates, enabled the brand with the star to climb back up to the previous year’s level in July. In October, Mercedes-Benz sold 18.8 percent more vehicles than in the same month last year (+1,707 units), allowing it to successfully defend its market position: Mercedes-Benz accounts for 37 percent of the vehicles sold in Japan by Germany’s premium car manufacturers. Sales of the smart fortwo have also increased substantially in Japan. Since the beginning of the year, deliveries of the two-seater have risen by 29.0 percent compared to the same period of 2010 (+1,042 units). Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars: “We are very pleased to see Japan back on its feet. I am confident that the Japanese automotive market will further strengthen and that our growth rate will accelerate, too.”


Nine of Mercedes-Benz’ most recent car models celebrated their Japan premieres today at the 42nd Tokyo Motor Show. Until December 11, the Stuttgart-based premium car manufacturer will display 23 vehicles of its Mercedes-Benz, Maybach, and smart brands at the international car and commercial vehicle show in Tokyo. These vehicles include the new Mercedes-Benz B-Class and M-Class as well as the SLS AMG Roadster and the new smart fortwo electric drive. All those vehicles will be launched in the Japanese market in 2012. Meanwhile, Mercedes-Benz’ Concept A-Class is providing a preview of the new A-Class, which will become available in Japan in 2013. With the F 125! research vehicle the brand is looking even further into the future. The luxury class sedan is equipped with a fuel cell plug-in hybrid with a range of 1,000 kilometers. The smart brand shows futuristic design and technologies that enhance energy efficiency, lightweight construction, and temperature management with its smart forvision concept car. Traditionally, the Tokyo Motor Show focuses more on innovative future technologies in automotive engineering than other international auto shows.

Dr. Schmidt: “At the Tokyo Motor Show we are presenting an overview of our product and technology offensive. All these new cars contribute to our growth strategy and underscore our ambition to lead in the premium segment.” As part of its “Mercedes-Benz 2020” growth strategy, the brand will expand its product portfolio with ten new models until 2015. In the future there will be five Mercedes models in the compact segment alone. By 2020 the company plans to be the leading manufacturer in the premium segment. Therefore, Mercedes-Benz also aims to grow on the Japanese market.

Japan is currently one of Mercedes-Benz’ top ten sales markets. Since January, Mercedes-Benz has posted its strongest sales growths in Japan within the C-Class segment (10,260 units, +29.7%). The C-Class estate has achieved year to date record sales of 3,456 units (+43.3%).The C-Class’ great popularity in the country is also demonstrated by the fact that it was voted among the top ten contenders for the Car of the Year 2011 award. Moreover, with the C-Class sedan Mercedes-Benz is the market leader among the importers in its segment. The new generation of the SLK, which was introduced this year, is also very well received by customers. In the luxury car segment, the S-Class sedan is leading the import manufacturers. In the J.D. Power Sales Satisfaction Index (SSI) for 2011, Mercedes-Benz was the top-ranking import brand in Japan.

Especially with regard to alternative power train systems, the Japanese market plays an important role. The demand for electric vehicles, for example, is rapidly increasing. That is why Daimler’s smart brand has been operating a test fleet of ten second generation smart electric drive in Japan since last year. The smart electric drive is currently being tested in 18 markets worldwide. From the very start, the two-seater was also designed for electric operation. The first generation of the vehicle was tested in London back in 2007. The third generation of the car will be launched in the market next year. It is the first series-produced electric vehicle from Europe and will be available in more than 30 countries. Dr. Annette Winkler, head of smart: “Response to the third generation smart fortwo electric drive has been overwhelming so far. I am really proud to present it here in Tokyo, one of the megacities the smart has been developed for. As electric mobility has a high status in Japan, we are very happy to offer our Japanese customers the innovative electric smart fortwo starting 2012.” More than 26,000 smart brand vehicles have been sold in Japan since the car was introduced into the market eleven years ago.

The wholly owned Daimler subsidiary Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., Ltd. is responsible for importing, selling, and marketing products of Mercedes-Benz Cars in the Japanese market. The company maintains a comprehensive sales and service network in Japan, encompassing 73 dealers with 204 sales outlets as well as 227 service workshops. Since 1993, Mercedes-Benz has been operating one of its five Advanced Design Centers near Yokohama. Besides Mercedes-Benz Japan Co., Ltd., Daimler AG is also represented in Japan by its subsidiaries Daimler Financial Services Japan Co., Ltd. and Mercedes-Benz Finance Co., Ltd. In addition, Daimler owns almost 90 percent of Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), one of Asia’s leading commercial vehicle manufacturers. MFTBC is an integral part of the Daimler Trucks division of Daimler AG. All in all, Daimler employs around 13,000 men and women in Japan.

Source: Daimler AG

Copyright © 2011, Mercedes-Benz-Blog. All rights reserved.

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