Mercedes-Benz posted best-ever sales in the company's history

OREANDA-NEWS. Mercedes-Benz posts best-ever sales in the company's history.

• Mercedes-Benz sells 1,650,010 vehicles in 2014 (+12.9%) – more than ever before. It is the fourth record year in a row.

• 2014 ends with strongest sales month (163,171 units) and best quarter (454,854 units) in the company’s history.

• Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: "Mercedes-Benz is on a course of success. The best sales in our company's history show that our product offensive is bearing fruit. Our new models are extremely popular among our customers. The success is due in particular to our compact cars, the new C-Class and the S-Class. We have managed to grow unit sales in all core markets. In 2015, we will continue our product offensive in the SUV segment. We expect additional sales momentum by the SUVs, the full availability of the new C-Class, the compact cars and the two smart models."

• Growth drivers: S-Class Sedan (+82.2%) and compact cars (+24.7%)

• Sales records in the USA (+5.7%) and in China (+29.1%)

• For the first time, China is the second largest market after the USA.

• Market leader in Germany, Japan, Australia, Canada and Russia

Mercedes-Benz sold more cars than ever before in 2014. The brand with the star delivered 1,650,010 vehicles to customers (+12.9%) and achieved the fourth record year in a row. Record sales were posted in every month of the year 2014 – including in December with 163,171 units sold (+17.2%). The past year ended for the Stuttgart based company with the strongest sales month and the best quarter (454,854 units) in the company’s history.

Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: "Mercedes-Benz is on a course of success. The best sales in our company's history show that our product offensive is bearing fruit. Our new models are extremely popular among our customers. The success is due in particular to our compact cars, the new C-Class and the S-Class. We have managed to grow unit sales in all core markets. In 2015, we will continue our product offensive in the SUV segment. We expect additional sales momentum by the SUVs, the full availability of the new C-Class, the compact cars and the two smart models."

"Our product offensive is still running at high speed. Until 2020, we will bring at least eleven new models without a predecessor to the market", says Ola K?llenius, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG, responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. "Our new products will ensure further growth through 2020 as will the consistent alignment of all marketing channels to the changing customer wishes and needs", adds K?llenius. To this end, the brand with the star is pooling its efforts in the initiative "Mercedes-Benz 2020 – Best Customer Experience", through which Mercedes-Benz is placing a stronger focus on its inner-city presence. The world's first Mercedes me store, which offers customers a combination of vehicle presentations, culinary experiences, events, information, consulting and digital interaction possibilities, opened its doors in Hamburg in June. Since the spring of 2014, Mercedes-Benz is bundling all service and mobility offerings under the "Mercedes me" umbrella brand. At the "Mercedes me" website, the customer can obtain global access to all Mercedes-Benz services via a personalized ID. With this, "Mercedes me" is setting new standards for individual customer service.

In the overall European market, unit sales increased by 9.4% in 2014 and are thus significantly above the general market growth. In December, 66,777 vehicles were handed over to customers in Europe (+21.5%). In the toughly competitive German market, Mercedes-Benz continued to defend its market leadership among the premium manufacturers in 2014. Sales in Germany jumped by 13.6% in December. In the United Kingdom, the second largest European market of the company, 2014 was another record year for unit sales, with a total of 123,480 vehicle deliveries to customers (+14.6%). The company also posted record high sales in Portugal (+45.7%), Switzerland (+15.8%) and Belgium (+8.0%). Unit sales in Spain grew by more than 30%.

In the year 2014, unit sales in the NAFTA Region totaled 373,291 vehicles (+5.8%), of which 330,391 were in the USA alone (+5.7%). Thus, the USA has maintained its position as the largest sales market of Mercedes-Benz. New records were posted in the USA, Canada and Mexico in the past year. In Canada, Mercedes-Benz holds the market leadership among the premium manufacturers.

For the first time, China outpaced Germany as the second largest market in 2014. With 281,588 vehicles sold, sales in China have never been so high (+29.1%). The C-Class long-wheelbase version is available there since August. New sales records were posted in 2014 in Japan and Australia, where Mercedes-Benz is market leader among the premium manufacturers. Total sales in the Asia-Pacific region grew by 25.7% to 491,321 units.

The compact car segment, which was extended by the GLA in March, was particularly successful in 2014. Unit sales grew by 24.7% to 463,152 vehicles of the A-, B-, CLA- and GLA-Class. Mercedes-Benz has never before delivered so many compacts to customers in a single year. With the CLA Shooting Brake, the fifth compact car model will be launched in spring of 2015.

The C-Class Sedan maintained its position as the top-volume model of Mercedes-Benz again in 2014. The new sedan is the first vehicle to be produced on four continents. The annual sales of the new sedan and the new estate, which came on the market in March and September 2014, rose by 4.4% to 316,792 units in the past year. Sales in December even increased by nearly 50% compared to the previous year's month. In 2015, the company expects additional sales momentum from this model series through the full availability of the two new models and further engines.

With sales of 257,571 units, the E-Class Sedan and Estate made a significant contribution to the good sales result of the past year (+6.2%). The E-Class long-wheelbase version, which is offered in China, was especially popular: The demand for this model jumped by 49.8% to 56,344 vehicles sold. The E-Class long-wheelbase version is often used as a chauffeured limousine in China since the customers appreciate the increased legroom. For fleet customers worldwide, especially the E-Class Estate is of primary importance.

Once again, the S-Class was the best-selling luxury sedan in the world in 2014. In the past year, unit sales of the S-Class Sedan skyrocketed by 82.2% to 103,737 vehicles sold. The new Mercedes-Maybach S 600 will celebrate its market launch in 2015. In November, the first model of the new sub-brand Mercedes-Maybach was presented to the public for the first time in Guangzhou and Los Angeles.

SUV sales in 2014 reached a new record of 341,788 vehicles (+5.3%). Record high sales were posted by the GLK-Class (+7.7%), the M-Class (+8.7%) and the G-Class (+10.4%).

Since May 2014, the new V-Class is the biggest member of the passenger car family of Mercedes-Benz. With its design and numerous innovations it is setting new standards in its segment. Since the market launch, nearly 25,000 V-Class vehicles have already been handed over to customers.

The Mercedes-Benz dream cars include all roadsters, cabriolets and coup?s with the star. In 2014, a total of 141,998 customers fulfilled their wish for a dream car. With the S-Class Coup? and the CLS facelift launched in September, the dream car successes are to be continued in 2015.

The sports car and performance brand Mercedes-AMG posted a record year in 2014 with sales of 47.632 vehicles. The entry into the compact class and the expansion of the model offering have brought new customer groups and successes for Mercedes-AMG in established and new markets. Completely self-developed models, such as the Mercedes-AMG GT presented in 2014, support the success story of the brand and its growth course sustainably. With the new AMG sports models, which are targeted to the segment between the AMG line for Mercedes-Benz and the classic AMG vehicles, Mercedes-AMG will offer customers a new entry into the AMG world.

In the year of the model change, 89,844 smart units were sold (PY 100,792). In 2014, smart was particularly successful in the USA, where the previous year's sales could be topped by 12.8%. The new smart fortwo and the four-seater smart forfour are available at the dealers since the end of November. Unit sales jumped by 17.5% in the first month after the launch. For 2015, the brand expects a significant increase in the sales numbers worldwide through the availability of the new models.

The carsharing provider car2go counts one million customers worldwide at the turn of the year. After the 2014 start of car2go in the cities of Rome, Florence, Frankfurt, Copenhagen and Stockholm, as well as in South Bay L.A. and Brooklyn N.Y.C., use of smart carsharing services is now possible in 30 European and North American cities.