Mercedes-Benz Sales Plummet 13.9% in July

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported sales of 18,586 new vehicles for July, bringing the company's year- to-date total to 136,826 units, a 0.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year and marking the best year-to-date sales volume in its history.

With significant boosts in sales for both the S-Class and CL-Class (12.9 percent and 561.5 percent increases respectively), highlights for July sales include a 12 percent increase in sales of Mercedes-Benz high-end vehicles (S-, SL-, and CL-Classes) as a group. SUVs also showed growth, with the company's highly acclaimed M-Class model line's 23 percent increase (3,015 vs. 2,446 units) for the month.

Compared to the first seven months of 2006, the same period this year marked increases from the volume-leading C-Class with its 13.4 percent gain (31,619 vs. 27,881 units) to the exclusive CL-Class luxury coupe's 436.2 percent increase (2,043 vs. 381 units). As a group, Mercedes-Benz's light truck offerings posted a year-to-date increase of 12.4 percent (39,804 vs. 35,413 SUVs), including a seven percent jump for the M-Class and 87.7 percent growth for the seven-passenger full-sized GL-Class.

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, MBUSA marked a 1.1 percent increase for July sales with 4,417 vehicles sold, bringing year-to-date sales to a total of 30,475 units, an increase of 11.8 percent over the same period in 2006.

MBKing - 8/1/2007 1:18:17 PM

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009 why lie and put that title?

Agent009 - 8/1/2007 1:27:03 PM

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?? The Sales are down 13.9% for the month... Where is the confusion.

Larry - 8/1/2007 1:26:13 PM

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new c class will help

M53R - 8/1/2007 1:44:03 PM

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???? I read the article, where does it say the sales are down 13.9%?

Agent009 - 8/1/2007 2:11:59 PM

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Click on the pic to see them better.

Will_ - 8/1/2007 2:59:51 PM

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Introducing the B-Class here may turn out to be good for their sales, but bad for their image.

I95SPEEDINGTICKETS - 8/1/2007 3:32:20 PM

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I think only an IDIOT would make such stupid comments based of the sales reports of one month.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/1/2007 6:55:36 PM

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The A3 hasn't tarnished Audi's image by existing in the US, but that might just be because the A3 is such a good hatch. The B, I'm not sure about, but you know as well as I do that nobody is going to stop wanting an S550 just because a B180 is in the showroom.

david989 - 8/1/2007 5:11:22 PM

-1 Boost

Another nail in the coffin for this low tech company. I wish Toyota would just buy Mercedes already and throw all that junk in the MB museum in the trash and replace it with cars worthy of being in there like the Supra, Celica and 2000GT and Corolla or the original LS400. I seriously think those old Mercedes are overrated and underpowered. In 1920 you paid a fortune for a Mercedes that only had like 50 horsepower? What a rip off. I am amazed people even bought their overpriced and underpowered junk.

Rupert - 8/1/2007 5:55:26 PM

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Are you really that stupid or are you playing a (very long) elaborate joke?

david989 - 8/1/2007 6:19:52 PM

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You mean to tell me you don't know? The first Mercedes was like a 1 horsepower slow crapbox and it was overpriced. The first Lexus LS400 was immediately class leading. My point is that Benz is overrated. They really didn't do much in terms of innovation and Toyota has more motorsport heritage than Mercedes. Mercedes only motorsport heritage comes from AMG and they were like founded in the mid 1990s I think.

S4cabriofoxone - 8/1/2007 6:56:38 PM

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The original LS400 literally stole the S420's chassis and put a different body on it.

Rupert - 8/1/2007 7:41:05 PM

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Mercedes made the first car full stop!!
How is that not important?!

Mercedes has a huge racing heritage, not only from AMG (which has been around since 1967 thank you very much) but from cars like the Silver Arrows, or what about the 300SL gullwing or the original SLRs?
Just read this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_in_motorsport
Far bigger than Toyota's "heritage".
Didn't do that much in terms of innovation???? Airbags, ABS, ESP, Pre-safe, seatbelts, crumple zones, safety cell...the list goes on.
Mercedes is also the fastest automatic car in the world (SLR) and the fastest street legal saloon (Brabus E class V12)
You really are ignorant.

Bill - 8/1/2007 8:44:11 PM

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Sorry to burst your bubble, Lexus Admirer, but Mercedes has way more racing heritage than Toyota, by far. Not included in that Wikipedia article are the early forms of races that took place when the Benz Cie. and DMG were not yet merged (pre-1926). The Wikipedia article basically mentions the Mercedes racing heritage post-1926 when Benz Cie. and DMG were merged. Furthermore Mercedes has participated and DOMINATED far more famous races than Toyota by far.

Rupert - 8/1/2007 8:58:44 PM

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You're telling my M-B's racing since 1923 is worth less than Toyota's racing since the 70s?
Toyota did rallying, M-B did touring cars, Toyota did Nascar, M-B did something with more credit.
My bubble is not burst.

Bill - 8/2/2007 9:06:06 AM

+3 Boost

Lexus Admirer, your comments are so pathetically stupid and biased it's not even funny anymore. Pre-1926 Mercedes was a leader in sales setting up World Records in speeds such as the Blitzen Benz, the first car to go over 200 kph (I think it topped out at 223 kph). There were endurance races from Stuttart to Paris, in which Mercedes did well. There were various Grand Prix's in which Mercedes dominated, both pre-1926 and post-1926.

So please spare me this utter garbage about Toyota having more racing heritage, because they don't. Furthermore, Mercedes actually has won more championships, races and events than Toyota when it comes to motorsport. Case closed.

Oh, and Mercedes has participated in WRC as well as other rally championships. Three Mercedes W123 sedans all placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the London (in the UK)-Sydney (in Australia) rally in the late 1970. The infamous 300SE Fintail was a superb rally car in the 1960s winning mulptiple European and African rally events. The 190 Ponton series of the 1950s finished 1st and 2nd (and in diesel form too!) during a late 1950s (can't remember the exact name) rally from a North African country to South Africa.

Bill - 8/2/2007 9:06:54 AM

+1 Boost

Lexus Admirer, your comments are so pathetically stupid and biased it's not even funny anymore. Pre-1926 Mercedes was a leader in sales setting up World Records in speeds such as the Blitzen Benz, the first car to go over 200 kph (I think it topped out at 223 kph). There were endurance races from Stuttart to Paris, in which Mercedes did well. There were various Grand Prix's in which Mercedes dominated, both pre-1926 and post-1926.

So please spare me this utter garbage about Toyota having more racing heritage, because they don't. Furthermore, Mercedes actually has won more championships, races and events than Toyota when it comes to motorsport. Case closed.

Oh, and Mercedes has participated in WRC as well as other rally championships. Three Mercedes W123 sedans all placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd respectively in the London (in the UK)-Sydney (in Australia) rally in the late 1970. The infamous 300SE Fintail was a superb rally car in the 1960s winning mulptiple European and African rally events. The 190 Ponton series of the 1950s finished 1st and 2nd (and in diesel form too!) during a late 1950s (can't remember the exact name) rally from a North African country to South Africa.

porschemike - 8/4/2007 1:33:51 PM

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David are you an old man that likes to drive your lexus real slow down the street?? A Japanese car is only good for going forward down the street, not road handling or road feel that you get from a Good German Vehicle!! Sure MB went thru some quality problems, most corp do and correct them!! I'd rather get in an auto accident in a German Car than a little rin tin tin Jap Trap!!! You're in every Blog slamming German Cars, do you work for Lexus?? Or just don't have anything better to do??

Rupert - 8/1/2007 5:57:34 PM

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They sold more SLs than SLKs this month...what's up with that?

Zimmer - 8/2/2007 2:22:51 AM

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HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA

I am laughing at the pathetic R CLASS, it is only averaging around a 1000 sales per month.
MB predicted 50,000 annual sales at the start.

MB should JUST KILL THIS EMBARRASSMENT. The joke is no longer funny.