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Mercedes-Benz USA Posts Strong November Sales

4 December 2000

Mercedes-Benz USA Posts Strong November Sales of 16,175 New Vehicles MBUSA Year-to-Date Sales Up 8.8 Percent to 185,308 Vehicles

    MONTVALE, N.J., Dec. 1 Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported
its second-best November on record with sales of 16,175 vehicles for the
month, while year-to-date sales hit an all-time record, increasing 8.8 percent
to 185,308, versus 170,319 sales during the comparable period in 1999.
    Relative to last year, sales for the month of November showed a 2.2
percent decrease for the month due to limited availability of several new
models.
    Sales of the all-new C-Class -- the C240 and C320 which went on sale in
September -- rose 32.7 percent versus November 1999 from 2,145 to 2,846 units.
Year-to-date sales for the C-Class are 11 percent ahead of last year (30,518
versus 27,503).
    November M-Class retail sales were an impressive 4,482 units, representing
an 8.8 percent sales increase over last November's sales record.  This
represents the best November on record for the M-Class.  In addition, M-Class
year-to-date sales have increased 17.7 percent compared to 1999 (47,544 versus
40,405).
    Though the ever-popular CLK family of coupes and cabriolets decreased 31.6
percent for the month (1,455 versus 2,128), the model line increased 12.8
percent on a year-to-date basis (16,072 versus 14,246).  Continuing several
months of sales records, November SLK roadster sales of 783 units represent a
22.5 percent increase over November 1999 sales (639 units). Year-to-date SLK
sales are 21.9 percent ahead of 1999 (12,127 versus 9,944).
    Sales for the E-Class decreased from 4,087 in November 1999 to 3,344 in
November 2000, down 18.2 percent.  Year-to-date sales for the E-Class
decreased slightly by 1.5 percent from 45,669 to 44,964. While November sales
of the S-Class were down by 4.9 percent (2,665 units compared to last year's
2,802), year-to-date sales were higher than last year by 7.8 percent (27,205
versus 25,222).
    The all-new CL-Class continues its strong momentum, recording 242 sales in
its twelfth month on the market.
    Included in the individual model line totals were sales of 587 AMG models,
establishing the all-time best month for MBUSA's high-performance brands.  AMG
sales for November increased 250 percent versus one year ago, and were led by
the ML55 AMG and the all-new CLK55 AMG.  The first 22 of the new CL55 AMG,
MBUSA's flagship coupe performance model, were sold during its first month on
the market.
    Separately, through its Starmark certified pre-owned vehicle program,
MBUSA recorded sales of 2,515 for the month, an increase of 21.7 percent
compared to November 1999 sales of 2,067 vehicles.  On a year-to-date basis,
Starmark sales increased 26.4 percent to a total of 27,616 versus 21,843 in
November 1999.  To date, Starmark sales represent approximately 70 percent of
all Mercedes-Benz pre-owned sales.