Mercedes-Benz USA 2005 Record August Sales

MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 1 -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported its highest August on record with sales of 19,267 new vehicles, an increase of 7.1 percent over last August, bringing the year-to-date sales total to 138,692 vehicles.

The new 2006 M-Class continued its strong momentum in the market, with a sales increase of 51 percent over August 2004. The month was also marked by a significant jump in SLK-Class sales, which increased 107.5 percent over August 2004. Highlights for the month further included a 9.1 percent sales increase for the E-Class and gains for the SL-Class, which is up 15.1 percent over August 2004.

Separately, the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned vehicle program reported August sales of 3,660 units, bringing the year-to-date total to 30,640.

In 2004, MBUSA achieved its eleventh consecutive year of sales growth by setting the highest sales volume in its history with 221,610 new vehicle sales and expects to continue the momentum with another record year of sales in 2005. 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 http://www.mbusa.com/ .

                            MERCEDES-BENZ USA
                           Sales -- August 2005

                                                   YTD      YTD
  Model            Aug '05   Aug '04  Monthly %   2005      2004   Yearly %

  C-CLASS            5,054     5,529    -8.6%    36,319    44,460   -18.3%

  E-CLASS            5,011     4,594     9.1%    30,951    36,787   -15.9%

  S-CLASS            1,179     1,962   -39.9%    10,280    12,835   -19.9%

  CL-CLASS              88       233   -62.2%       832     1,723   -51.7%

  SL-CLASS             986       857    15.1%     6,694     8,963   -25.3%

  CLK-CLASS          1,377     2,068   -33.4%    13,037    14,866   -12.3%

  SLK-CLASS            776       374   107.5%     7,647     2,745   178.6%

  CLS - Class        1,198       n/a      n/a    10,790       n/a      n/a

  M-CLASS            3,455     2,289    50.9%    21,271    16,851    26.2%

  G-CLASS              143        78    83.3%       871       884    -1.5%

  GRAND TOTAL       19,267    17,984     7.1%   138,692   140,114    -1.0%