Mercedes-Benz USA Records 2005 Highest September on Record

MONTVALE, N.J., Oct. 3, 2005 -- For the fourth consecutive month, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported a record breaking month for sales volume. With new vehicle sales of 17,552 units, MBUSA records its highest September on record, bringing its year-to-date sales total to 156,244 vehicles.

The volume leading C-Class demonstrated a 3.6 percent increase over sales last September with 5,050 units sold. Other highlights include the strong sales momentum of the new 2006 M-Class, with an increase of 21.3 percent over September 2004. The month was also marked by a significant jump in SLK-Class sales, which increased 40.7 percent (857 vs. 616 units) for the month. In addition, the highly-acclaimed Mercedes-Benz R-Class recorded sales of 386 units in its first two weeks on the market; the vehicle's retail launch of September 14th marked the introduction of the new Grand Sports Tourer segment.

Separately, the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned vehicle program reported September sales of 3,294 units, bringing the year-to-date total to 33,934.

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 www.mbusa.com.

                            MERCEDES-BENZ USA
                         Sales -- September 2005

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

  C-CLASS        5,050       4,876       3.6%     41,369     49,336   -16.1%

  E-CLASS        4,544       4,655      -2.4%     35,495     41,442   -14.4%

  S-CLASS        1,041       1,781     -41.5%     11,321     14,616   -22.5%

  CL-CLASS          87         235     -63.0%        919      1,958   -53.1%

  SL-CLASS         755         872     -13.4%      7,449      9,835   -24.3%

  CLK-CLASS      1,121       2,007     -44.1%     14,158     16,873   -16.1%

  SLK-CLASS        867         616      40.7%      8,514      3,361   153.3%

  CLS-CLASS        857         n/a       n/a      11,647        n/a     n/a

  R-CLASS          386         n/a       n/a         386        n/a     n/a

  M-CLASS        2,727       2,249      21.3%     23,998     19,100    25.6%

  G-CLASS          117         154     -24.0%        988      1,038    -4.8%

  GRAND TOTAL   17,552      17,445       0.6%    156,244    157,559    -0.8%

NOTE TO EDITORS: This story and high-resolution photos can be downloaded from the MBUSA news-media website at http://media.mbusa.com