While US sales were down 3% in April, mostly due to the slowdown in the US economy, worldwide sales of the four brands of Mercedes-Benz Cars (Mercedes-Benz, AMG, smart, and Maybach) reached a total of 119,000 units for April, an overall increase of 22% from the 2007 figure (97,800). Since the beginning of the year, Mercedes-Benz Cars has delivered 437,700 vehicles, representing a 14% increase compared to the same period last year (384,600).
Sales of Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles were up16 percent in April with 105,400 deliveries (April 2007: 90,600). In the first four months of the year, a total of 395,100 customers worldwide chose a vehicle with the star, an increase of eight percent on the figure for the same period last year (365,000), reaching a new record.
The new C-Class continues to post very strong growth worldwide, with sales of sedan and station-wagon models for the month of April rising to a new record of 35,600 vehicles, an increase of 88 percent (April 2007: 18,900).
Also a big success with customers are the A- and B-Class models: due to the very positive sales situation in Western Europe (including Germany) deliveries worldwide rose by 18 percent to 23,800 vehicles in April (April 2007: 20,200). At the beginning of April, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the A-Class and B-Class models of the 2008 generation at the Leipzig International Motor Show (AMI). Deliveries of both vehicles will start at the end of June.
One year after the market launch of the new smart fortwo, sales remain exceptionally strong. With 13,600 vehicles, deliveries almost doubled compared to the same month last year (6,900) and posted a new record figure for the month. Following a successful market launch in the U.S. at the beginning of the year, the smart fortwo will now also be introduced in China in mid-2009.
Deliveries in Western Europe were up 21 percent to 63,000 vehicles (April 2007: 51,900). In Germany alone, sales increased by 46 percent to 31,700 units (April 2007: 21,700). This increase was the result of strong growth from the A-Class, B-Class, and C-Class, but also a strong market performance of the E-Class: 5,200 E-Class vehicles were sold in the month of April, an increase of 25 percent (April 2007: 4,200). The S-Class also remains very popular among German customers: Mercedes-Benz sales in the luxury segment in Germany rose by more than one-third in the month of April, to 1,400 units (April 2007:1,000).
Mercedes-Benz sales in the Asia/Pacific region climbed 24 percent to 11,800 vehicles, also reaching a new record (April 2007: 9,500). In the U.S., Mercedes-Benz delivered 20,300 models to customers (down three percent; April 2007: 20,900).
