Daimler has announced that a total of 93,800 Mercedes-Benz, AMG, smart and Maybach brand cars were sold worldwide in October, 18% down on October of last year. Within that total Mercedes-Benz passenger cars were down 21% to 82,500 units while Smart cars were up 7% to 11,300 units.
Daimler said that in the first ten months – in a period that it described as an ‘increasingly difficult market environment’ – Daimler Group passenger car sales were up 2% to 1,073,700 units. Within that total Mercedes-Benz passnger cars were down 2% at 960,300 units while Smart car sales were up an impressive 47% to 113,200 units.
Daimler reported that sales of the C-Class year-to-date were strong – deliveries rising by 21% to 380,300 units – helped by higher sales of sports coupe and estate variants. A total of 5,700 customers bought the new station wagon model in October, nearly five times more than in the same month last year. Daimler said that customers also continue to be very enthusiastic about the new CLC sports coupé, deliveries of which rose by 56% in October to 2,200 units (October 2007: 1,400).
The company also said Mercedes-Benz has started selling its new generation of four-cylinder diesel engines this month. Beginning in December, it will first become available in the C 250 CDI BlueEFFICIENCY Prime Edition, where it will reduce fuel consumption to 5.2 liters per 100 km. The new four-cylinder diesel engine introduced into the C-Class will subsequently also be introduced into the E-Class, and the new GLK.
While the company noted that Mercedes brand sales were down this year in Western Europe (-4%) and the US (-5%) it said that it has continued to do well in the important automotive growth markets of China and Russia.
In China, Mercedes brand sales rose 53% to 36,000 units in the first ten months and in Russia deliveries of Mercedes-Benz vehicles increased by 10% to 14,300 units.
Growth in the period was also recorded in the Middle East, where deliveries rose by 15% to 17,900 passenger vehicles.
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