Mercedes April U.S. Vehicle Sales off 6.8% - Year to Date Still Up

MONTVALE, N.J., May 1 -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported sales of 17,911 new vehicles in April, contributing to the total of 69,488 sold year-to-date. The April total contributed to the best year-to-date sales in the company's history.

"We are pleased to see how well the new CLK and E-Class models have been received," said Keith May, vice president of sales for MBUSA, "and look forward to augmenting our momentum with new vehicle introductions starting this summer."

Sales of CLK coupes and Cabriolets saw a 41 percent increase for the month compared to last April, raising year-to-date sales for the model line by 2.4 percent. Other highlights for the month included a close race for volume leader as the C-Class family of sports sedans, coupes and wagons posted 4,869 cars sold, while the highly acclaimed E-Class sedans and wagons recorded 4,267, a 46.9 percent gain compared to last April.

Year-to-date, increases were seen across the various product lines compared to the first four months in 2002: the E-Class jumped 38.1 percent; the S-Class was up 9.8 percent; and the C-Class and CL-Class rose 6.7 and 4.3 percent respectively.

Recent extensions to the product lines also recorded gains for both the month and year-to-date sales compared to 2002. High-performance AMG vehicles recorded its best sales month in MBUSA history with a 12.6 percent increase for April (929 vs. 825 units), boosting year-to-date sales 9.1 percent (3,107 vs. 2,848). In addition, the company's 4MATIC all-wheel-drive vehicles saw an 89 percent increase for the month (1,322 vs. 763) and a 63.5 percent increase in year-to-date sales.

Separately, MBUSA's Starmark certified pre-owned vehicle program recorded continued success with sales of 4,447 units in April, the best month ever for Starmark sales. This brought Starmark's year-to-date total to 15,970, an increase of 11.6 percent over last year.

                            MERCEDES-BENZ USA
                           Sales -- April 2003

   Model              April      April   Monthly    YTD       YTD   Yearly
                        '03        '02      %      2003      2002      %

   C-CLASS TOTAL      4,869      5,887  -17.3%   22,436    21,020     6.7%

   E-CLASS TOTAL      4,267      2,904   46.9%   16,992    12,300    38.1%

   S-CLASS TOTAL      2,042      2,002    2.0%    7,292     6,640     9.8%

   CL TOTAL             384        394   -2.5%    1,309     1,255     4.3%

   SL TOTAL           1,232      1,474  -16.4%    3,752     5,125   -26.8%

   CLK TOTAL          2,058      1,460   41.0%    6,356     6,210     2.4%

   SLK TOTAL            591        915  -35.4%    1,857     2,780   -33.2%

   M-CLASS TOTAL      2,303      3,084  -25.3%    8,919    12,359   -27.8%

   G-CLASS              165        356  -53.7%      575     1,005   -42.8%

   GRAND TOTAL       17,911     18,476   -3.1%   69,488    68,694     1.2%