Sales of 16,155 Make Best July Ever for MBUSA; Year-to-Date Sales Up 0.6 Percent Over Last Year's Record Pace

    MONTVALE, N.J., Aug. 1 Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported
July sales of 16,155 vehicles, making this the best July on record for the
company.  On a year-to-date basis, the July sales pushed the company's volume
to 116,371, up 0.6 percent over last year's record-setting pace (115,690).
The company's much-anticipated all-new C-Class sports coupe and C-Class wagon,
which went on sale this month, helped propel MBUSA to record July sales
levels.
    Sales for the month of July were led by the M-Class sport utility model,
which experienced its best July ever with 3,870 units, up 6.1 percent from the
3,646 sold in July of 2000.  Right behind the M-Class, the E-Class sedan
achieved record sales of 3,720 units, up 16.9 percent (vs. 3,181).
    July sales of 3,430 for the C-Class model line -- another best July --
reflected a 1.2 percent increase with the debut of the new coupe and wagon
models for 2002.  The all-new C-Class sports coupe recorded 757 units and the
all-new C-Class wagon recorded 160 units in their first few weeks of sales.
    Sales of 1,152 for SLK roadster models marked an 18.4 percent decline for
the month (vs. 1,411).  CLK sales increased 41.5 percent to 1,384 units
compared with 978 for last July.
    The CL-Class recorded its highest July with sales of 226 for the flagship
coupes, an increase of 148.4 percent over July 2000 (91).   Sales of S-Class
sedans were 1,935, compared with 2,244 sold in July of last year.  The
renowned SL coupe/roadsters finished the month at 438, up by 24.4 percent
(vs. 352).
    On a year-to-date basis, sales were led by the E-Class at 27,141, down
1.7 percent versus the 27,602 sold during the first six months of last year.
The M-Class was close behind with 26,269 models sold, trailing 9.3 percent
from last year (vs. 28,976).  At 25,980, C-Class sales were up 41.3 percent
(from 18,392) on a year-to-date basis.
    The CLK model line recorded sales of 10,268 units (vs. 11,592), down
11.4 percent for the first six months.  Sales of 7,005 for the SLK model line
trailed last year by 12.4 percent (vs. 7,998).
    The flagship CL coupes recorded their best year-to-date performance ever
with 2,050 vehicles sold, surpassing last year's volume by  96 percent (vs.
1,045).   Sales of the S-Class sedans posted a 12.3 percent decrease to
14,705 (vs. 16,774).
    Separately, through its Starmark pre-owned vehicle program, MBUSA marked
yet another milestone with the highest July sales of 3,108, an increase of
22.7 percent compared to July 2000 (2,534). On a year-to-date basis, Starmark
sales increase 23.7 percent to 21,554 units sold (vs. 17,424 in July 2000).