Mercedes Car Group Kicks Off January With Slight Sales Increase

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com on February 6, 2006 at 8:05 AM CST

Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all had a great Super  
Bowl weekend.

To kick things off today, DaimlerChrysler has put out a press release  
detailing January sales for the Mercedes Car Group. In total, the  
Mercedes-Benz and smart car brands sold 72,700 passenger cars  
worldwide, compared to 71,900 in January of 2005.  Separately, the  
Mercedes-Benz brand noted an increase of 5% last month with 61,300  
units being sold, while smart posted a 22.6% decline with 8,200 units  
being sold.

DaimlerChrysler attributes Mercedes' worldwide success to the  
introduction of new models, including the B-Class, M-Class and R- 
Class, and further growth is expected here in the United States  
thanks to the February launch of their new flagship S-Class.

For more info as well as an individual breakdown of sales by region,  
visit www.eMercedesBenz.com or check out DaimlerChrysler's full press  
release below.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Mercedes Car Group starts new year with a slight sales increase

Stuttgart, Feb 06, 2006

The Mercedes Car Group started the new year with a slight increase in  
unit sales to 72,700 passenger cars in January (January 2005:  
71,900). Mercedes-Benz delivered 64,500 passenger cars to customers  
worldwide, an increase of five percent on the 61,300 units delivered  
in January 2005. This positive development was primarily due to the  
successful launch of the new B-, M-, R- and S Class models. Mainly  
the new Mercedes-Benz flagship model is in great demand around the  
globe: Following its debut in the fall of 2005, the S-Class is once  
again the best-selling luxury sedan in the world.

Mercedes-Benz continues to grow rapidly in the Asia/Pacific region,  
where deliveries to customers rose by 19 percent to 8,700 units in  
January. This development was led by high demand in Japan (2,600  
passenger cars, up 40 percent) and record sales in China, including  
Hong Kong (1,700 passenger cars, up 47 percent). Nearly all Mercedes- 
Benz models contributed to the growth recorded in Asia, and the new S  
Class was particularly successful, posting record sales in January.

In the United States, Mercedes-Benz continued its solid performance  
from the prior year, increasing sales in that market by three percent  
to 12,500 units. Additional sales momentum can be expected from the  
launch of the new S Class in the U.S. in February. In Western Europe  
deliveries rose one percent in January to 36,000 Mercedes-Benz  
passenger cars.

smart delivers 8,200 vehicles worldwide in January 2006

The smart brand delivered 8,200 units in January 2006. A direct  
comparison to the previous year’s figure is not possible because a  
major contract was concluded with a business customer in January  
2005. The smart fortwo continued to display stable sales development.  
The response to the smart fortwo special edition “grandstyle” was  
especially positive; more than 4,000 orders had been placed for the  
model just a few weeks after the announcement of its launch.

For more Mercedes-Benz news and information, visit  
www.eMercedesBenz.com.