Sales: October 2012: Mercedes-Benz USA

[William Maley]

MONTVALE, N.J., Nov. 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported record October sales of 23,978 for its Mercedes-Benz models, up 5.9%, delivering a record year-to-date total of 215,596 new vehicles to customers, up 11.9%.

Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, smart and Sprinter for the month totaled a record for MBUSA overall with sales of 26,642, up 9.0%, bringing the year-to-date total to 240,973 up 15.8%.

"Despite the challenges of a storm of this magnitude and the incredible hardship in the Northeast, our strongest market, we managed to achieve another record month," said Steve Cannon, president and CEO, MBUSA. "We're still optimistic about ending this year with the highest sales in our history."

Mercedes-Benz sales for the month of October were led by the C-, E- and GLK-Class model lines. The sporty C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand on the car side for younger and first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – took the lead with sales of 7,636, up 7.8%. The 9th generation E-Class followed with sales of 5,265 and MBUSA's restyled compact SUV, the GLK-Class, rounded out the top three with sales of 2,943 up 18.0%. Additionally, the sporty SLK roadster sold 435 vehicles for the month, up 105.2%.

At the high end, the all-new iconic sixth generation 2013 SL roadster – which debuted in showrooms this past spring -- posted sales of 574 yielding an increase of 567.4% and the 28 SLS AMG supercars sold this month made for a 115.4% increase over the same period last year.

On a year-to-date basis, top performers were the C-Class with 65,376, the E-Class with 50,061 and the M-Class with 29,966.

Sales of the high-performance AMG models were up 35.5% for the year at 5,512 compared to the 4,069 vehicles sold over the same time last year.

Sales of the company's BlueTEC diesel models were up 14.2% for the year at 12,142 compared to the 10,630 diesels sold over the same period last year.

The company's smart brand continued twelve consecutive months of sales increases. October sales of 998, were a 205.2% increase over October 2011 (327), bringing the year-to-date volume to 8,309, up 443.8% when compared to the 1,528 vehicles sold by MBUSA last year. When compared to the combined Penske and MBUSA sales year-to-date last year (4,084), sales are up 103.5%.

On the van side, Sprinter had a strong month with 1,666 vehicles sold in October, up 12.2% over last year and up 22.5% on a year-to-date basis.

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 6,732 vehicles in October; an increase of 20.8% when compared to October 2011 (sales of 5,571 vehicles). On a year-to-date basis, MBCPO sold 66,318 vehicles, an increase of 5.4% over the comparable period (with sales of 62,929 vehicles).

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