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Front Runners in Automotive Sales: Mercedes-Benz Diesels and V12s

Mercedes-Benz USA SUVs, Diesels, and V12s Boost Sales for Best October on Record

MONTVALE, N.J., Nov. 1 -- Election Day may still be a week away, but Mercedes-Benz customers are casting their "automotive votes" through purchases of powerful and fuel-efficient vehicles, all indicators pointing to a positive road ahead for diesel-powered SUVs, like those introduced by Mercedes-Benz in October.

For the ninth consecutive month, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has marked record-breaking sales with today's announcement that the company has achieved its highest October sales ever with 20,598 new vehicles sold, an increase of 12.3 percent over last October. This brings MBUSA's year-to-date sales to 197,599, a 13.2 percent increase over the same period in 2005.

Building on its heritage as the leader in diesel-powered passenger vehicles, Mercedes-Benz introduced three new diesel models in October -- the M320 CDI SUV, R320 CDI SUV, and the all-new E320 BLUETEC which represents the world's cleanest diesel technology. MBUSA sold 829 such vehicles for the month and posted a 22.8 percent increase in diesel-powered vehicle sales for the year-to-date (4,282 units).

But fuel economy didn't overshadow another popular candidate: Power. As a group, Mercedes-Benz V12 models represented an increase of 22.2 percent for the year-to-date compared to the same period last year (1,868 vs. 1,529). V12 models include the CL600, CL65, S600, S65, SL600, and SL65.

Additionally, contrary to industry trends, Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the luxury light truck segment -- M-Class, R-Class, GL-Class and G-Class -- continued to demonstrate impressive gains with a combined 70 percent increase over last October (6,241 vs. 3,671) and an 84.5 percent increase over year-to- date 2005 (53,595 vs. 29,043).

Highlights for the month include a 4.8 percent increase of volume-leading E-Class sales over last October (4,895 vs. 4,670). In addition, boosted by strong sales of its flagship S-Class model line which showed a dramatic 79.5 percent increase in sales, Mercedes-Benz high-end vehicles (S-, SL- and CL- Classes) as a group marked a 41.5 percent increase compared to last October (3,170 vs. 2,241) and a 51.2 percent increase year-to-date over the first 10 months of 2005 (33,160 vs. 21,930).

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, MBUSA sold 3,835 vehicles in October, an increase of 13.1 percent over last October, bringing the year-to-date total to 39,622 units, a 6.2 percent increase over the same period in 2005.

In 2005, MBUSA achieved its twelfth consecutive year of sales growth by setting the highest sales volume in its history with 224,421 new vehicle sales. 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 -- October 2006

  Model                     Oct    Oct   Monthly    YTD      YTD     Yearly
                            '06    '05      %       2006     2005       %

  C-CLASS                  3,784   4,625  -18.2%   40,555   45,994   -11.8%

  E-CLASS                  4,895   4,670    4.8%   38,161   40,165    -5.0%

  S-CLASS                  2,518   1,403   79.5%   25,119   12,724    97.4%

  CL-CLASS                    98     105   -6.7%      574    1,024   -43.9%

  SL-CLASS                   554     733  -24.4%    7,467    8,182    -8.7%

  CLK-CLASS                1,058   1,176  -10.0%   13,899   15,334    -9.4%

  SLK-CLASS                  587     959  -38.8%    9,210    9,473    -2.8%

  CLS-CLASS                  863   1,007  -14.3%    9,019   12,654   -28.7%

  R-CLASS                  1,216     930   30.8%   15,347    1,316  1066.2%

  M-CLASS                  2,770   2,641    4.9%   24,560   26,639    -7.8%

  GL-CLASS                 2,215     n/a     n/a   13,154      n/a       n/a

  G-CLASS                     40     100  -60.0%      534    1,088   -50.9%

  GRAND TOTAL             20,598  18,349   12.3%  197,599  174,593    13.2%