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Mercedes-Benz Blasts Past 100,000

2 September 1998

Mercedes-Benz Blasts Past 100,000; U.S. Sales Milestone Accomplished Three Months Ahead of Last Year's Historic Pace

    MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 2 -- Mercedes-Benz of North America,
Inc. (MBNA) and its 320 dealer partners across the United States continued
1998's record-breaking momentum with August sales of 12,983 vehicles, an
increase of 74.8 percent over August 1997 (7,429).  The month reached a
historic high on August 13, 1998, when MBNA hit 100,000 in vehicle sales for
the second time in its history, three months ahead of when it reached that
milestone last year on November 20, 1997.  Through the end of August,
year-to-date sales reached 110,757, an increase of 67.5 percent over the
66,125 vehicles sold during the first eight months of 1997.
    The volume leader for the month was the E-Class model line with sales of
3,863 (vs. 2,786), an increase of 38.7 percent over last August; followed by
significant gains in the C-Class with sales of 2,652 (vs. 1,821), an increase
of 45.6 percent.
    New-for-1998 models continued to reflect high demand; the award-winning
ML320 sport utility vehicle posted sales of 3,259; and the CLK320 coupe
recorded sales of 415 vehicles.  ML430 sales commenced with 253 vehicles
delivered, while the SLK230 registered a 130.2 percent increase from 443 to
1,020.
    The premium S-Class sedans/CL coupes came in at 1,307 vs. 1,638 while the
SL coupe/roadster decreased to 214 (vs. 741) due to new model changeover.
    Year-to-date, C-Class sales increased 23.7 percent to 24,227 (vs. 19,571);
the E-Class climbed 12.4 percent to 30,707 (vs. 27,317); the S-Class sedans/CL
coupes increased 10.2 percent to 11,216 (vs. 10,175) while SL sales posted a
marginal decline of 3.0 percent (4,868 vs. 5,021).  SLK sales continue to
accelerate at 6,974 (up 75.6 percent from 4,041), while year-to-date sales of
the M-Class and the CLK are at 28,571 and 4,194, respectively.