| Mercedes Car Group Sells 96,400 Passenger Cars in May
The Mercedes Car Group sold 96,400 passenger cars of the Mercedes-Benz and smart brands in May 2005, compared to 102,300 units sold in May 2004. A total of 462,900 automobiles were delivered to customers from January through May, representing a 3.4 percent drop on the 479,100 units sold during the same period last year. The Mercedes-Benz brand sold 83,600 vehicles in May. This decrease of 6.6 percent was primarily due to the model changeovers for the M- and S Class. A total of 402,400 Mercedes-Benz automobiles were sold worldwide from January through May, compared to 430,500 units in the same period last year. Customers have responded particularly favorably to the new models introduced in 2004, which posted record sales in May. For example, 81,300 A Class vehicles were delivered to customers between January and May, which is significantly more than of any of the model’s competitors in the premium compact segment. The CLS-Class also performed very well during the first five months of the year, posting customer deliveries of 18,300 vehicles worldwide. The SLK continues to experience an upswing as well, and with sales of 28,900 units from January to May, it is currently the global market leader in its segment, as is the SL. More than 28,000 orders for B-Class at its launch The B- and M-Class are set to get off to an excellent start in Western Europe. More than 28,000 orders had already been received for the Compact Sports Tourer from Western Europe at the time of the vehicle’s market launch on June 4. Demand for the new M-Class is also extremely high in Western Europe with two months remaining until market launch in that region. At the IAA motor show in September, the new S-Class will demonstrate its outstanding role as trendsetter for the automotive industry. With more than three months still to go until the new Mercedes-Benz flagship model makes its world debut, the current model continues to be the world’s best-selling vehicle in the luxury segment. In fact, with a global market share of almost 30 percent, the S Class is still the world’s most sought-after luxury sedan, despite its considerably younger competitors. Sales of Mercedes vehicles are expected to be boosted in the coming months through the installation of the new generation of V6 and V8 engines in the C-, CLK-, CLS- and E-Class. smart sales up 24 percent — trend toward diesel models In the first five months of the year, worldwide sales of smart continued to grow, increasing by 24 percent to 60,500 units. A total of 12,800 vehicles were delivered to customers in May. Whereas demand in Western Europe, Asia and Canada continued to rise, the brand suffered from a major contraction of the small-car segment in Germany. The diesel-powered versions of the smart are currently doing particularly well, and nearly one out of four smart fortwo delivered to customers in May was equipped with common-rail technology. With sales of almost 120,000 units since its market launch, the smart fortwo cdi is also the world’s best-selling “three-liter” car. Diesel technology is even more popular in the smart forfour, of which one out of three is equipped with this drive system. However, a recent ÖKO-TREND environmental institute ranking proves that the smart isn’t just setting standards with its diesel engines; the environmental friendliness of the brand’s gasoline-powered vehicles is also attracting attention. In its May survey of over 1,000 series-production vehicles, ÖKO-TREND selected the most environmentally compatible models of 2005. The results showed the smart brand taking three first-place finishes and four rankings in the top five. While the smart fortwo coupé was ranked the world’s most environmentally compatible automobile in the “Mini Cars” category, the smart fortwo convertible finished first in the “Convertibles” category, followed by the smart roadster in second place. At the top of the “coupés” category was the smart roadster coupé, while the smart forfour came in third. Overview of Mercedes Car Group Sales
* Mercedes-Benz passenger cars | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mercedes Car Group Sells 96,400 Passenger Cars in May
