Mercedes-Benz Vans said sales of its large Sprinter model line set a new first quarter record, up 10% year on year to around 45,000 worldwide.
Notable growth was achieved in the core EU30 [countries] region (12%), the German domestic market (15%) and the UK (10%). In both countries, unit sales of Sprinter vans increased faster than the overall market growth. Sprinter sales increased significantly also in other markets, including Latin America and Russia.
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The automaker has sold about 3.3m units to date.
The current generation has been on the market since 2006. Variants are also sold by the VW Group badged as the Crafter.
Volker Mornhinweg, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans, said: "We have had a first-class product on the market for over 20 years, a product which defines an entire segment. It is primarily due to our van icon that we have posted our most successful first quarter of all time – in terms of unit sales, revenue and EBIT."
Mercedes-Benz Vans also set a new record for unit sales across all its model series in the first quarter, boosting sales 13% to to 86,800 vehicles. March was the most successful month ever for the division, with sales up 16% to 38,000.
First quarter revenue grew 6% to EUR3.0bn (US$3.29bn)while EBIT increased 19% to EUR357m. Return on sales increased from 10.7% to 11.9%.
In future, the large van line will be fully connected and available in a battery electric version.
Logistics company Hermes will be the first customer for the electric Sprinter. By the end of 2020, Hermes Germany plans to deploy 1,500 electric Sprinter and Vito vans in urban areas across Germany. The two companies will first launch a pilot phase for normal operations in Stuttgart and Hamburg early in 2018.
A next generation Sprinter will be launched before the end of the decade.
Modification and modernisation work is under way at the lead plant in Düsseldorf, at Ludwigsfelde in Brandenburg and at the González Catán plant near Buenos Aires in Argentina.
This year, Daimler will spend EUR260m on Sprinter plants in Germany alone, mainly preparing for production of the next generation.
