Stuttgart – Mercedes-Benz can be extremely satisfied with its car sales in the first three months of this year. March 2017 was the strongest sales month in the history of Mercedes-Benz with growth of 14.8% and 228,296 vehicles delivered. The first quarter of 2017 also surpassed all previous quarters, with sales rising by 16% to 560,625 units. In March, Mercedes-Benz was the premium-market leader in countries including Germany, Great Britain, France, Italy, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Canada and Mexico.
“In the first quarter of 2017, Mercedes-Benz delivered 560,625 vehicles to customers worldwide, an increase of 16 percent. That’s the highest number of cars we have ever sold in one quarter,” stated Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “The E-Class Saloon and Estate continued along their successful path in March with growth of around 65 percent. The bestselling model series of Mercedes-Benz has now been completed with the new E-Class Cabriolet, which we presented to the public at the Geneva Motor Show, right on time for the start of spring.”
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by region and market
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz handed over more than 100,000 vehicles to customers for the first time in one month: A total of 109,237 units were sold in March (+11.8%). Demand for automobiles with the three-pointed star resulted in sales of 233,329 units in the first quarter (+10.8%), the highest number ever sold in the first three months of a year. Mercedes-Benz achieved double-digit growth in March and in the first quarter in the Great Britain, Belgium, Spain, Austria and Poland. In Germany, the domestic market, Mercedes-Benz delivered 70,594 cars to its customers in the first quarter of this year (+8.9%).
Unit sales in the Asia-Pacific region increased to the new record of 78,649 cars with the star this March (+23.1%). And in the first three months of the year, Mercedes-Benz delivered more vehicles to customers than ever before in a quarter (219,418 units, +27.4%). In China, Mercedes-Benz increased its unit sales in March by more than 30% and handed over 49,871 vehicles to its customers, a new record. In South Korea, Australia and Malaysia, the Stuttgart-based company set best-ever figures for sales in March and in the first quarter.
Mercedes-Benz achieved best-ever sales in March also in the NAFTA region, where 34,922 automobiles were sold, an increase of 6.3%. Furthermore Mercedes-Benz recorded its highest number of cars ever sold in a first quarter with a total of 94,142 vehicles delivered to customers in the region (+7.1%). New records for the first quarter were also set for each of the individual NAFTA countries: the USA, Canada and Mexico. In the USA, demand for Mercedes-Benz automobiles increased by 4.5% in the first three months of the year, resulting in sales of 79,141 units.
Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model
Customers around the world are thrilled by the current generation of the E-Class. For the first time in the history of Mercedes-Benz, more than 35,000 Saloon and Estate models were handed over to customers in one month. This represents an increase of 64.7% compared with March 2016. Demand was particularly strong last month for the long-wheelbase version of the E-Class Saloon – sales more than doubled of this model, which is locally produced in China. And the new E-Class All-Terrain stimulated additional demand in its first sales month.
Sales of the SUVs from Mercedes-Benz were at an all-time high in March: 70,631 customers worldwide took delivery of their new vehicle, an increase of 12.8%. The strongest growth was posted by the GLS - sales more than doubled last month.
Demand for the dream cars from Mercedes-Benz increased by 33.7% in March: 20,023 customers received their new Cabriolet, Coupé or Roadster. The new E-Class Coupé already contributed towards the sales success in this segment, while the new E-Class Cabriolet debuted right in time for the start of spring at the Geneva Motor Show.
smart
Sales of smart models amounted to 34,156 units in the first three months of this year. The smart fortwo and forfour were especially popular in Great Britain, where the urban microcars achieved their best-ever sales figures in March as well as in the first quarter. Further sales stimulus is expected from the new smart electric drive. The electric versions of the smart fortwo and smart forfour have been available to order in Europe since March.
