Mercedes-Benz delivered more than 156,000 vehicles to customers in August – an increase of 11.8%. The main contribution towards this increase came from the strong rise in unit sales of SUVs of approximately 40%.
Mercedes-Benz was able to surpass its strongest August to date in the previous year due to double-digit growth in the Asia-Pacific region and in the domestic market.
Two sales milestones were also passed last month: More than four million SUVs and 15,000 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class vehicles have been sold since their market launches.
Stuttgart – This August, 156,246 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were handed over to customers worldwide (+11.8%). Mercedes-Benz has been setting new records month by month for three and a half years in a row.
In the period of January to August, deliveries increased by 11.7% to 1,326,635 units – more than ever before in the first eight months of a year.
Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales: “Mercedes-Benz has already delivered more than four million SUVs to customers worldwide.
Their popularity is rising year on year. Thanks to their double-digit growth rate, the SUVs once again contributed significantly to the best-ever unit sales by Mercedes-Benz this August.”
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by region and market
Sales in Europe, the biggest region for Mercedes-Benz, increased to a new high of 56,809 units in August (+12.9%). The proportion of vehicles sold in Germany was particularly high last month: 23.530 units went to customers in the domestic market (+11.9%).
The region’s growth was also due to strong unit sales in the markets of Great Britain, Italy, France, Spain and Belgium which all rose at double-digit rates.
In Germany, France, Spain and Portugal, the Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star was the premium brand with the largest number of new registrations in August.
Sales by Mercedes-Benz in the Asia-Pacific region reached the new high of 61,605 units in August (+20.1%), with 41,072 vehicles delivered to customers in China (+25.4%).
Unit sales in China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and Taiwan were higher than ever before in the month of August. Mercedes-Benz was the market leader among the premium manufacturers in Japan and Taiwan last month.
A total of 33,033 units were sold in the NAFTA region last month (+1.4%). Never before had so many cars been handed over to customers in an August in that region, nor in the individual markets of the USA, Canada and Mexico.
In the USA, 28,404 new owners took proud possession of their cars with the three-pointed star. In Canada and Mexico, Mercedes-Benz was the market leader among the premium manufacturers last month.
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model
There was strong demand for the E-Class Saloon and Estate last month. Approximately 17,000 of these models were handed over to customers.
This means that the E-Class continues to be one of the best-selling Mercedes-Benz models, although the new Saloon is only now coming to the dealerships in its biggest market China and the new Estate has not yet arrived at the dealerships.
Sales growth in August was particularly strong in Europe and the NAFTA region.
The S-Class Saloon maintained its position as the world’s best-selling luxury saloon since the beginning of the year. The Mercedes-Maybach S-Class has also contributed towards this success: Since it was launched last year, more than 15,000 units of this model have been delivered to customers all over the world – not least because its development engineers combined the maximum comfort of an S-Class with the exclusivity of Maybach.
Sales of the SUVs from Mercedes-Benz reached a new high of 56,286 units in August (+39.3%). Especially popular were the GLA and GLC last month.
More than four million customers worldwide have been opted for an SUV of Mercedes-Benz to date. Since 2011, unit sales of SUVs have more than doubled.
smart
Sales of the smart fortwo and forfour increased by 20.8% to 7,631 units in August. The urban microcar was especially popular last month in China, where the new smart cabrio has also been delivered to customers since July.
Unit sales of smart models nearly tripled in China compared with the prior-year month.
Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars
| August 2016 | Change in % | Jan.–Aug. 2016 | Change in % | |
| Mercedes-Benz | 156,246 | +11.8 | 1,326,635 | +11.7 |
| smart | 7,631 | +20.8 | 91,708 | +17.9 |
| Mercedes-Benz Cars | 163,877 | +12.2 | 1,418,343 | +12.1 |
| Mercedes-Benz unit sales in the region/market | ||||
| Europe | 56,809 | +12.9 | 570,380 | +12.3 |
| – thereof Germany | 23,530 | +11.9 | 190,829 | +7.4 |
| Asia-Pacific | 61,605 | +20.1 | 465,085 | +21.2 |
| – thereof Japan | 4,752 | +3.1 | 41,917 | +0.9 |
| – thereof China | 41,072 | +25.4 | 298,348 | +31.1 |
| NAFTA | 33,033 | +1.4 | 255,730 | +0.9 |
| – thereof USA | 28,404 | +0.1 | 219,704 | -0.5 |
