Mercedes-Benz starts Q2 on a high, sales up 10.8%

Mercedes-Benz sold 164,063 vehicles globally in April (up 10.8% year-on-year), achieving its 38th record month in succession as new records were set in each of Europe, Asia-Pacific and the NAFTA regions last month.

The German carmaker was the premium market leader in the USA, Germany, Japan, Canada, Australia and Taiwan in April with SUVs being the primary driver.

Ola Källenius, member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales commented, “We have grown now for 38 months in succession and with five market launches we had a good start to the second quarter. In addition to the E-Class Saloon and the GLS, our dream cars SL, SLC and S-Class Cabriolet are at the dealerships in time for the start of spring – five attractive reasons for further growth.”

Sales by region and market

Sales in Europe totalled 73,070 units in April, up 14.2% YoY, of which 25,777 vehicles were sold in the home market (up 11% YoY). Records were set in both April and the first four months of the year in Great Britian, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Portugal, Sweden and Poland. In Germany, Mercedes-Benz was the market leader among the premium manufacturers.

In the Asia-Pacific region, April sales increased by 17.2% to more than 50,000 units. In China, demand for Mercedes-Benz vehicles last month rose to a new record of 35,625 units (up 31.6%). Double-digit growth was achieved in the fourth month of this year also in Japan, Australia and Malaysia. In Japan, Australia and Taiwan, the Stuttgart-based carmaker once again achieved market leadership among the premium importers.

The automaker’s sales in the NAFTA region totalled 34,058 units, up 1.2% YoY. In the USA, Mercedes-Benz reported best-ever April sales with 29,236 vehicles sold. In Mexico, double-digit growth also led to a new record in April. Mercedes-Benz was the market leader among the premium manufacturers in the USA and in Canada.

Sales by model

The brand’s compact cars provided further impetus in April with sales of 50,829 units (up 12.9%) with the highest number A- or B-Class, the CLA, CLA Shooting Brake, GLA, GLE or GLS sold in an April. Growth was particularly strong last month in China, Great Britian, Japan and South Korea.

The C-Class continues to be the bestseller from Mercedes-Benz. Sales of the C-Class Saloon and Estate totalled 32,682 units in April.

Last month, 18,915 units of the E-Class Saloon and Estate were handed over to customers, an increase of 3.4% with strong sales growth in the home market Germany. This was mainly due to the new E-Class Saloon, which has been available in Europe since April 9.

The S-Class Saloon maintained its position as the world’s best-selling luxury saloon since the beginning of this year with the car especially popular in Germany, where double-digit growth was achieved. The carmaker also launched the new S-Class Cabriolet last month, the sixth variant of the current S-Class family.

Meanwhile, SUVs continued its strong growth in the fourth month of the year, with sales of 56,612 units, up 40.2%. 

Also read: Mercedes-Benz clocks best-ever sales globally for Q1 and March