Diesel driving another record month in Canada

Chris July 2, 2008

Diesel SUV sales are driving Mercedes-Benz sales in Canada. Gasoline powered sedans are also flying off the forecourts, but it is the diesel SUVs that are helping Benz to capture sales from European and Japanese rivals such as BMW and Lexus. Neither of these competitors offer any diesel models, and gas-guzzling SUVs are currently about as popular as a mosquito in your camping tent.

Mercedes-Benz Canada reached the half-way point of 2008 by beating the best first half ever, the best second quarter ever, and the best June ever. As their rivals falter, the three-pointed star continues to surge ahead.

Press release in full after the break.

July 2, 2008

Mercedes-Benz Canada reports best June, best second quarter and strongest first half year sales ever

Mercedes-Benz Canada reported today its best June ever with a total of 2,516 units registered for the month. Second quarter results were also the best ever with 7,376 units delivered, up 1,645 units or 28.7% compared to second quarter 2007. The June results bring the year-to-date total to 12,125 units; an increase of 24.9% compared to last year at this time and the best sales for the first half of any year in the company’s history.

A total of 2,105 Mercedes-Benz vehicles were delivered in June, representing a gain of 669 units or a 46.6% increase compared to June 2007 and bringing year-to-date growth to 25.8%. A total of 411 smart fortwos were sold in June, bringing the year-to-date total to 1,964 units, up 20.2% from last year at this time. The combined Mercedes-Benz and smart sales of 2,516 units represents an increase of 613 units or gains of 32.2% for the month.

Very strong B-Class, C-Class, CLS-Class, S-Class, SL-Class, M-Class and GL-Class model sales contributed to June’s success. The next generation All-New C-Class accounted for an impressive 845 units. The M-Class and the GL-Class retail deliveries were up respectively by 36.5% and 54.2% in June. The company’s diesel sales ratio was 61.2% for the month while the permanent all-wheel drive 4MATICâ„¢ units accounted for 61.9% of the overall passenger car and light truck sales (excluding smart).

Total Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales of 1651 units were ahead by 566 units, a 52.2% gain for the month and up 28.6% on a year-to-date basis.

On the luxury light truck side, the M-Class, R-Class and GL-Class performed very well again in June with 454 sales and a gain of 29.3% compared to June 2007 results. Light trucks have shown a growth of 17.1% so far this year with 2,285 units delivered.

On the pre-owned side, the company reported 604 Mercedes-Benz units for the month of June. For the first half of 2008 3,681 pre-owned units have been delivered to customers. This represents an 18.8% increase against year-to-date June 2007 results and is another record for Mercedes-Benz Canada.

Marcus Breitschwerdt, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada said,” We’ve reached the half way point of 2008 and Mercedes-Benz Canada continues to break records. Selling over 12,100 units in six months is a significant accomplishment that we should all be very proud of. These results speak volumes to our exciting product range and also our dedicated team of professionals who have worked hard to achieve these remarkable results. It also shows the tremendous positive impact of the huge investments into the dealerships and the network that our dealers and Mercedes-Benz Canada have made over the last year. The year-to-date accomplishment augurs well as we enter the second half of this very exciting year.”