Mercedes July Sales Up 25.5 Percent

18,742 Units Marks Best Ever July in MBUSA History

MONTVALE, N.J., Aug. 1 -- On pace to set another record-breaking year, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported sales of 18,742 new vehicles for July 2003, bringing the year-to-date total to 124,630 units, 5.7 percent ahead of the same period last year. This marks the best July sales in MBUSA history, and the year-to-date total set a new record for the first seven months of MBUSA sales.

The sales volume leader for July was the C-Class family of sedans, wagons and coupes with 6,518 units sold, accelerating the model line's volume by 24.6 percent over the 5,232 units sold in July 2002 and marking the best July on record for the C-Class. The model line was also the volume leader for year-to-date sales with 40,092 new C-Class models sold, a 5.3 percent increase over the first seven months of 2002 and another C-Class milestone.

Other highlights for the month included major sales gains for AMG high-performance models which posted an increase of 57.2 percent compared to the same period in 2002 (6,385 units vs. 4,061). The popular E-Class demonstrated strong July sales of 4,388 units, boosting the model line's year-to-date sales by 67.4 percent. In addition, the renowned SL-Class roadsters posted an increase of 33.9 percent for the month, and CLK coupes and cabriolets posted a 13.8 percent jump over July 2002.

Separately, through its Starmark pre-owned vehicle program, MBUSA recorded sales of 4,734 units, an increase of 34.1 percent over last July. On a year-to-date basis, Starmark sales increased 19.7 percent to 30,250 units sold.

                            MERCEDES-BENZ USA
                            Sales -- July 2003

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

  C-CLASS TOTAL             6,518   5,232   24.6%   40,092   38,089    5.3%

  E-CLASS TOTAL             4,388   1,577  178.2%   30,367   18,140   67.4%

  S-CLASS TOTAL             1,416   1,438   -1.5%   12,318   11,426    7.8%

  CL TOTAL                    216     332  -34.9%    2,177    2,354   -7.5%

  SL TOTAL                  1,047     782   33.9%    6,779    8,198  -17.3%

  CLK TOTAL                 1,416   1,244   13.8%   11,168   10,106   10.5%

  SLK TOTAL                   591     715  -17.3%    3,764    5,196  -27.6%

  M-CLASS TOTAL             3,027   3,356   -9.8%   16,948   22,454  -24.5%

  G-CLASS                     123     261  -52.9%    1,017    1,901  -46.5%

  GRAND TOTAL              18,742  14,937   25.5%  124,630  117,864    5.7%