Strongest Sales Month for Mercedes-Benz in the Company's History

A Class

Mercedes-Benz delivers 183,467 vehicles to customers in March (+15.7%) – more than ever before.
Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales: "Mercedes-Benz recorded the strongest sales month and the best first quarter in the company's history in March."
Strong growth and sales records in the biggest markets: USA (+9.2%) and China (+20.8%)
Record-high sales of C-Class Sedan and Estate (+57.8%), SUVs (+31.9%), compact cars (+25.3%) and S-Class Sedan (+7.1%) in the first quarter of 2015

STUTTGART -- April 8, 2015: Mercedes-Benz continues its record performance with 183,467 vehicles sold in March (+15.7%). Sales have never before reached such a high level in one month. Since the beginning of the year, 429,602 vehicles have been handed over to customers, topping the previous year's record by 14.8%.

“Mercedes-Benz recorded the strongest sales month and the best first quarter in the company's history in March,” said Ola Källenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. "These successful results are due in no small part to the product offensive we continued to drive forward in March. The CLA Shooting Brake, launched March 28, is the perfect addition to our compact car family,” continued Källenius.

Last month, Mercedes-Benz set a new sales record in Europe, where sales rose by 16.3% to 89,041 vehicles. In Germany, 27,118 customers were happy to receive their new Mercedes-Benz in March. Since the beginning of the year, sales on the home market could be increased by 7.3% to 60,115 units. In Great Britain, record sales of 26,488 vehicles and an increase of 19.5% were achieved in March. Particularly high growth rates were posted, among others, in France (+42.4%), Spain (+44.5%) and Belgium (+38.8%).

In the NAFTA region, a new sales record of 34,370 vehicles was set in March (+9.1%). In the USA, the record of the previous year could be exceeded by 9.2% and 29,921 vehicles were handed over to the customers.

In the Asia-Pacific region, sales rose by 18.0% to a new record high of 54,206 vehicles last month. 30,124 units went to China, where a high sales growth of 20.8% was achieved. So many Chinese customers have never before received their new Mercedes-Benz in March. A sales record was also posted in Japan, where 18,776 vehicles were delivered to customers since the beginning of the year. In Japan, the brand with the star is market leader among the premium manufacturers. In Australia, Mercedes-Benz achieved a sales increase of 16.8% and thus a new record.

Since the end of March, the CLA Shooting Brake supplements the successful compact car family of Mercedes-Benz. More than four million customers around the world have opted for an A-Class, B-Class, CLA or GLA since the launch of the first compact car from Mercedes-Benz in 1997. The compact cars continued to enjoy great popularity, which enabled a 25.3% sales increase in the first quarter of 2015 and thus a new record.

The track to record sales levels of the C-Class Sedan and Estate is unbroken. Since the beginning of the year, 109,050 units of these model series have been sold, 57.8% more than in the same period of the previous year.

The E-Class was especially popular in China: In the first quarter of 2015, the E-Class Sedan posted growth of 4.9% and achieved a new sales record there.

The best selling luxury sedan in the world, the S-Class Sedan, has been delivered to 25,849 customers since the beginning of the year (+7.1%). So many units of this model series have never before been sold in the first three months of a year.

The SUVs have also achieved a new record: Since the beginning of the year, sales have increased by 31.9% in comparison with the previous year's period to a total of 107,323 units. The G-Class posted a sales growth of 24.2% and a new sales all-time high in March.

The new smart models also enjoyed great popularity in March: A total of 11,984 customers opted for the two-door or four-door variant of the city runabout last month (+25.4%). After its successful market launch in Europe, the two-door city coupé will also be available for sale in the USA from autumn onwards. The smart fortwo is currently celebrating its official US premiere at the New York International Auto Show.

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

	March 2015	Change in %	Per March 2015	Change in %
Mercedes-Benz	183,467	+15.7	429,602	+14.8
smart	11,984	+25.4	28,744	+22.7
Mercedes-Benz Cars	195,451	+16.3	458,346	+15.2

Mercedes-Benz Sales in the Markets
Europe	89,041	+16.3	187,284	+16.0
- thereof Germany	27,118	+6.2	60,115	+7.3
NAFTA	34,370	+9.1	88,738	+8.4
- thereof USA	29,921	+9.2	78,156	+7.6
Asia-Pacific	54,206	+18.0	138,467	+16.7
- thereof Japan	9,002	+3.6	18,776	+5.4
- thereof China	30,124	+20.8	78,183	+16.6