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Mercedes-Benz Records Another Sales Surge

5 October 1998

Mercedes-Benz Records Another Sales Surge; Year-to-Date 1998 U.S. Sales Already Rocket Past 1997 Annual Total

    MONTVALE, N.J., Oct. 2 -- With Mercedes-Benz dealers
retailing 13,728 new vehicles in September, for the first nine-months of 1998,
Mercedes-Benz of North America, Inc. (MBNA) has already passed 1997's
record-breaking sales total of 122,265 for the entire year.  Year-to-date
sales set an all-time nine-month record with 124,485 vehicles sold -- a
55.7 percent increase over the 79,943 vehicles sold during the first
nine-months of 1997.
    The September 1998 sales volume of 13,728 represents a marginal decrease
of 0.65 percent relative to September 1997 sales (13,818), because of new
model changeover in most of its core vehicle lines.  Despite this, significant
gains were made in September in the company's sporty models including the SLK
roadster, the new CLK coupe and SL-Class.
    Mercedes-Benz SLK roadster continued to soar with September sales of
836 (vs. 507), an increase of 64.9 percent; followed by the new CLK model line
with sales of 1,780 (vs. 194), an increase of 817.5 percent over last
September; significant gains were also made in the SL-Class with sales of
850 (vs. 777), an increase of 9.4 percent.
    The volume leader for the month was the E-Class model line with sales of
3,313 (vs. 4,001), a decrease of 30.7 percent due to changeover; followed by
the award-winning ML320 sport utility vehicle which posted sales of
2,376 (vs. 3,430), a decrease of 30.7 percent.  The newly arrived, V8 powered
ML430 posted strong sales of 837 vehicles in its second month of delivery.
    The C-Class posted sales of 2,590 (vs. 3,151), a 17.8 percent decrease,
while the premium S-Class sedans/CL coupes came in at 1,146 (vs. 1,758), a
decrease of 34.8 percent, also due to model runout.
    Year-to-date, sales of the C-Class were up 18.0 percent
(26,817 vs. 22,722); the E-Class grew 8.6 percent (34,020 vs. 31,318); and the
S-Class/CL coupes showed a 3.6 percent increase (12,362 vs. 11,933).  Sales of
the M-Class continue to accelerate at 31,784 (up 826.6 percent from 3,430) and
the CLK jumps to 5,974 (vs. 194).  SLK sales continue to increase to
7,810 (up 71.7 percent from 3,262), while the SL-Class decreased slightly to
5,718 (vs. 5,798).