December 2013: Mercedes-Benz USA

[William Maley]

Mercedes-Benz Achieves Its Highest Year Ever With 312,534 Units Sold In 2013

• MBUSA hits new benchmark at 343,614, up 12.6%

January 03, 2014 - MONTVALE, N.J.

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported the highest annual sales volumes in its history with 312,534 units sold for the Mercedes-Benz brand in 2013, representing a 14.0% increase from the 274,134 vehicles sold in 2012. Sprinter Vans achieved an annual sales total of 21,816, gaining 4.2%. Adding 9,264 units from smart, MBUSA's year-end total hit a record 343,614, increasing 12.6% from the 305,072 vehicles sold the previous year.

"It's been an incredible year for Mercedes-Benz in every way," said Steve Cannon, president and CEO of MBUSA. "We saw record sales, flexed our muscles across the entire product line from top to bottom and brought the customer experience to an all-time high. With the help of our dealer partners and the entire organization behind us, we expect this beautifully choreographed series of product debuts to lead us to another phenomenal year in 2014."

Impressive increases were made in both the Mercedes-Benz passenger car and light truck categories, climbing 16.0% and 10.4%, respectively, from 2012. Annual retail volumes for the Mercedes-Benz brand were led by the C-, E- and M-Class model lines. The sporty C-Class took the top spot for the year at 88,251 units, rising 8.0% from 2012, followed by the E-Class with annual sales of 69,803, up 7.1%. The brand's top-selling SUV, the M-Class, rounded out the top three at 41,326, up 8.5% over the previous year.

Strong gains also were seen at the high end. The flagship S-Class, which reset the luxury benchmark with an all-new generation for model year 2014, posted an annual increase of 12.8% to 13,303 units. Total sales for the SL-Class roadster rose 43.0% at 7,007.

A best-ever December for the Mercedes-Benz brand yielded sales of 33,007, increasing 17.3% from the 28,145 vehicles sold in December 2012. The E-Class model line was the top volume performer for the month, jumping 25% to 8,727. Sprinter Vans, which launched a redesigned 2014 lineup in September, saw continued growth at 2,828 for the month, up 26.8%. Adding volumes of 855 at smart, MBUSA December sales reached a landmark 36,690 units, increasing 17.0% from the 31,372 vehicles sold during the same month last year.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz BlueTEC diesel models totaled 1,575 in December and finished the year at 14,943. The company's high-performance AMG models delivered strong December sales of 1,109, bringing the year-end total to 6,906, a 3.7% increase from 2012.

Separately, Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) recorded sales of 9,726 vehicles in December, an increase of 40.0% compared to the 6,949 units sold in December 2012. For the year, MBCPO sold 99,075 vehicles, climbing 23.3% from the 80,380 vehicles sold in 2012.

[regfootball]

CLA did not appear to cannibalize the other MB models......

[smk4565]

No it didn't, I think the CLA will bring a new buyer in. Younger and not as wealthy obviously but also a buyer looking for a more youthful looking car, and something sporty rather than the C-class which is a bit more formal in appearance.

Mercedes ended the year the #1 selling luxury brand in the USA also. The C-class had a really strong year for a car that came out for 2008, and the new S-class is dominating that segment as expected, and that should continue in 2014 as they release the coupe and V12 models.

[balthazar]

CLA is pulling in the nissan/toyota family sedan crowd- after all; pricewise its going to get crossshopped with cam/cord/tima/bu's. This is where the management @ Daimler felt the brand 'needed' to be taken (in the Relentless Pursuit of Volume). Looking forward to see just how downmarket their push will go; more FWD appliances for the masses!

Edited January 6, 2014 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

Just think, for the first time, you too can own a new Mercedes-Benz!

"a chicken in every pot and a Mercedes-Benz in every garage"

[G. David Felt]

Will be interesting to see who they conquest the buyers from. Personally I think it will be from the Asian brands that MB will steal the most from.

[balthazar]

"a chicken in every pot and a Mercedes-Benz in every garage"

This is a reference to their (inter??)national tagline of a few years back, right?

The automotive Freudian slip of the decade.

And look : the link shows the newest segment mercedes is slipping down into ; PEDAL CARS!

Edited January 6, 2014 by balthazar

[Drew Dowdell]

"a chicken in every pot and a Mercedes-Benz in every garage"

This is a reference to their (inter??)national tagline of a few years back, right?

The automotive Freudian slip of the decade.

And look : the link shows the newest segment mercedes is slipping down into ; PEDAL CARS!

How else are they going to get their ABA down?

[Z-06]

I fail to understand how the S class coupe is going to increase the sales number healthily when the current CL class that it will replace has hardly been able to crack 4 digit sales in the last two years. Please enlighten me.

CL class forms 3 to 6% of S class volume.