Mercedes-Benz USA Reports Best September Sales Ever

Mercedes-Benz Sales Up 13.3 Percent for the Year

MONTVALE, N.J., Oct. 3 -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported its highest September on record with sales of 19,873 new vehicles, an increase of 13.2 percent over last September. This brings MBUSA's year-to-date sales to 177,001, a 13.3 percent increase over the same period in 2005.

Sales volume for the month was led by the C-Class with 4,238 units and the E-Class with 4,112 units. Highlights for the month include an increase in sales of the flagship S-Class which rose by 126.4 percent over September 2005 (2,357 v. 1,041 units) and a 10 percent jump in sales of the CLS-Class four- door coupe (943 v. 857 units). In addition, sales of Mercedes-Benz sedans posted year-to-date sales of 91,244, representing a seven percent increase over year-to-date sales in 2005 of 85,278.

Sales for Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the luxury light truck segment -- M- Class, R-Class, GL-Class and G-Class -- continue to demonstrate impressive gains with a combined 84.5 percent increase over last September and an 86.6 percent increase over year-to-date 2005 (47,354 v. 25,372).

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, MBUSA sold 4,305 vehicles in September, an increase of 30.7 percent over September 2005, bringing the year-to-date total to 35,787 units, a 5.5 percent increase over year-to-date 2005.

In 2005, MBUSA achieved its twelfth consecutive year of sales growth by setting the highest sales volume in its history with 224,421 new vehicle sales. Headquartered in Montvale, N.J., MBUSA is responsible for the sales, marketing and service of all Mercedes-Benz products in the United States. More information on MBUSA and its products can be found on the Internet at www.mbusa.com.

  Model        Sept '06  Sept '05  Monthly %   YTD 2006  YTD 2005  Yearly %

  C-CLASS         4,238     5,050     -16.1%     36,771    41,369    -11.1%

  E-CLASS         4,112     4,544      -9.5%     33,266    35,495     -6.3%

  S-CLASS         2,357     1,041     126.4%     22,601    11,321     99.6%

  CL-CLASS           41        87     -52.9%        476       919    -48.2%

  SL-CLASS          557       755     -26.2%      6,913     7,449     -7.2%

  CLK-CLASS         963     1,121     -14.1%     12,841    14,158     -9.3%

  SLK-CLASS         702       867     -19.0%      8,623     8,514      1.3%

  CLS-CLASS         943       857      10.0%      8,156    11,647    -30.0%

  R-CLASS         1,276       386     230.6%     14,131       386   3560.9%

  M-CLASS         2,706     2,727      -0.8%     21,790    23,998     -9.2%

  GL-CLASS        1,937       n/a       n/a      10,939       n/a       n/a

  G-CLASS            41       117     -65.0%        494       988    -50.0%

  GRAND TOTAL    19,873    17,552      13.2%    177,001   156,244     13.3%