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%