Mercedes-Benz Cars Worldwide Sales Drop 6.7 Percent In June 2009

Daimler AG is reporting that in the month of June 2009, sales at their Mercedes-Benz Cars division dropped to 111,300 new units, a decrease of 6.7 percent when compared to last year's June figure of 119,300 new units. As a result, worldwide sales of the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart brands now total 544,400 new units through the first six months of the year, a decrease over last year's six-month YTD total of 18.5 percent.

Individually, sales at Mercedes-Benz dropped 5.4 percent to 100,300 units in June – this compared to 106,000 units last year. At smart, the brand noted a more substantial decline, with sales of the compact fortwo totaling 11,000 new units – down 17.1 percent when compared to the prior year.
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rxh8me9000 - 7/8/2009 11:39:07 PM

+2 Boost

Mercedes needs to start making cars with better suspension setups.What good is 1000 horsepower if the car still feels like a boat.The motors are fine.They need to start offering 6spd manuals,and better handling cars.Most reviews on AMG models all say the same thing;the cars got balls,but need to drop some weight. Less weight would create even better acceleration times and drastically improve the handling.They need to get rid of the idea that Mercedes are for old people.This is coming from a previous owner of an E and C-class.Even though the % decrease of sales is not terrible,it can get worse. With better handling cars and a sportier image im sure sales would be up.

Wimmer - 7/9/2009 11:00:21 AM

+2 Boost

"They need to start offering 6spd manuals,and better handling cars."

Why should they offer 6-speed manuals? So 20 year old kids like you can impress girls by driving a manual Benz? Give me a break. The target market of Mercedes-Benz isn't interested in "driving". They want comfort, luxury and the prestigious name of the brand. It is not financially intelligent for Mercedes to offer manual transmissions in their cars because THIS DOESN'T SELL them. Heck, even here in Europe where most cars are manual transmissioned, a Mercedes with a manual transmission, especially an E-Class, C-Class or even SLK-Class will be hard to sell or resell. People want automatics in a Benz. End of story.

The handling of modern Mercedes' is just fine too. Do you drive home everyday as if you're on a racetrack? I seriously doubt that. The suspension setup of your average Mercedes is already an excellent compromise between sport and comfort. If you want something sportier go buy a BMW or Infiniti.

"Less weight would create even better acceleration times and drastically improve the handling."

Is acceleration so important? You sound like a 15 year old that thinks 0-60 is all that matters. Handling, as I said before, is completely fine. In fact US-spec Mercedes' are watered down in the handling department so that they are more comfortable than their sportier European counterpart. Besides, very few people who buy a Mercedes care about razor sharp handling.

"They need to get rid of the idea that Mercedes are for old people."

That idea was killed in 1982 with the advent of the 190-Series. Oh, and did you know that the average age of a BMW owner in Germany is 56 while a Mercedes owner is 54 years old (Source: Autobild).

"With better handling cars and a sportier image im sure sales would be up."

Mercedes cars sell not because of BMW-like handling or a sporty image. They sell because they're Mercedes-Benz cars. Very simple. The history, the image, the innovation, the motorsport etc. behind this brand is what sells them. The handling of your modern Benz is completely adequate for every situation and even sporty driving. Hell, even a 1979 200D W123 drove pretty modern the last time I drove one.

investor27 - 7/9/2009 8:58:08 AM

+1 Boost

I thought they had previously said that their sales were up globally, because the new E-Class was such a success?