Mercedes Sales Weaken In May With a 8.2% Decrease In Volume

Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported May sales volume at 26,893 units, a decrease of 8.2% from the 29,299 vehicles sold during the same month last year. On a year-to-date basis, Mercedes-Benz retails totaled 132,966 units, down 1.0% from the previous year, which was an all-time record for MBUSA. Adding 3,066 units for Vans and 331 units for smart, MBUSA achieved a grand total of 30,242 vehicles for the month, down 7.1% from May of last year.

"High demand combined with short supplies on some of our most popular models (GLC, CLA and GLA) during the new model changeover created some challenges," said Dietmar Exler, president and CEO of MBUSA. "With 2018 models, particularly CLA and GLA, now arriving in dealer showrooms we expect to be back on track for a strong year."

Mercedes-Benz volume leaders in May included the C-Class, GLE and E-Class (including the CLS) model lines. The C-Class took the lead at 6,996, followed by the GLE sales of 4,631. The E-Class rounded out the top three with 4,068 units sold.

Mercedes-AMG high-performance models sold 2,848 units in May, with a total of 14,317 units sold year-to-date (up 53.2%).

Separately, Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) models recorded sales of 10,887 vehicles in May, a decrease of 4.0% when compared to the same month last year (11,343). On a year-to-date basis, MBCPO sold 51,239 vehicles, an increase of 1.1% over 2016 (50,700).

Car4life1 - 6/1/2017 6:49:46 PM

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Market saturation did a number on the luxury sector last month, and the trend will continue into the second half of this year at the least, more brands will be put to the test, and trimming of the fat will come from execs...

This will certainly be a survival of the fittest phase for the sector, stay tuned folks

carsnyc - 6/1/2017 6:56:53 PM

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New E not as a strong as expected and I'm blaming it on the small engine.

Car4life1 - 6/1/2017 7:48:43 PM

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yea that, and the market is leaning more towards SUV's in general in mass market, premium, and luxury sectors...the fact that the E Class sold more than the Lexus ES speaks volumes, the ES used to sale atleast 8,000 units regularly

Firewombat - 6/3/2017 5:24:50 AM

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I don't think they did enough with the styling of the new E, very boring. Nice car but doesn't separate itself from the C enough. E coupe is very pretty however.

dpalmo - 6/1/2017 7:02:55 PM

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Wow, Mercedes' sales in May completely imploded! Sadly, the backbone of MB's sales in American has completely collapsed! Look at those sales figures for the CLA and GLA.

Interestingly, MB has the biggest incentives compared to Audi and BMW, if you take into account their nation-wide $339 lease sign-ins and 2.99% APRs on the CLA. And yet... it appears that no one bought one in May. I guess people have finally realized what terrible cars the CLA and GLA are.

With no new, attractive entry level cars in the near future, Mercedes is on the road to ruins. With the lowest profit margins in a luxury brand thanks to a costly Formula one program, MB will simply run aground in a year or two.

My prediction is that MB will be forced to partner with Nissan further to develop an low cost entry Mercedes built on the Nissan/Renault V platform. Without moving downmarket like Audi, MB is truly doomed and will lose the crown to be the world's number one luxury brand.

Car4life1 - 6/1/2017 7:45:01 PM

+2 Boost

And I just cant believe the S Class sold nearly as much as Audi's A6. A7, and A8 combined...YIKES talk about slouches...

And to think the A3 only sold 500 units more than the CLA last month, despite the CLA having ZERO rear headroom is pretty sad...the CLA gave the A3 advantage and Audi can barely utilize it

Anyway...I'm glad the Volkswagen A4 as atleast making somewhat of a stance for Audi...who knows...maybe next month Audi will break 20,000 in units and finally join the big boys

cidflekken - 6/2/2017 12:10:32 AM

+1 Boost

Hey, Sharpie. The CLA and GLA have NEVER been the backbone of sales for Benz. The rest of your post...not even worth the time. You are clearly a ogre begging for attention.

MDarringer - 6/2/2017 8:48:29 AM

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@facepalmo You said: "My prediction is that MB will be forced to partner with Nissan further to develop an low cost entry Mercedes built on the Nissan/Renault V platform."

You don't know much about cars do you? The CLA/GLA are not bespoke Mercedes platforms. They are very much related to the Renault Megane in much the same way that the Nissan Navara is the basis for the new Mercedes pickup.

dpalmo - 6/2/2017 1:03:55 PM

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What I mean is a even smaller car built on the V Platform to compete against the A1, seeing how MB currently has no model in that segment.

GermanNut - 6/2/2017 9:39:09 AM

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Mercedes-Benz still expanded its lead over BMW YTD despite its poor showing in May. Mercedes-Benz has already secured first place over BMW in the U.S. and globally for the second straight year and we're not even halfway through 2017 yet.

Mercedes-Benz holds a huge 12,842 unit advantage over BMW in the U.S. YTD.

What happened with the CLA in May? Is the model due for replacement in 2017?

dpalmo - 6/2/2017 1:16:29 PM

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The weak sales of CLA is a reflection of the terrible designs of Mercedes. But sadly Mercedes' growth is not sustainable, if it continue to have no answer to Audi's smaller A1, Q2 models. BMW is also doomed in itself with no small entry car, like Mercedes. BMW will needs develop an even smaller car than the 1-series to compete. And of course, a better lead designer for both Mercedes and BMW is absolutely necessary.

When Audi expands sales of A1 and Q1/2 to every global market, especially here in the US. At a starting price of $16,000, A1 and Q2 will spearhead Audi's sales to overtake BMW and Mercedes. With the luxury market imploding recently in May, that's a bigger sign that going downmarket should be MB and BMW's long-term strategy, not upmarket - something that Audi is doing very right.

GermanNut - 6/2/2017 2:46:21 PM

-2 Boost

Actually dpalmo, Audi IS going upmarket. The new Q8 SUV is a signal that Audi is moving its SUV range higher than the Q7.

However, Audi is also going downmarket with the Q2 and A1.

Firewombat - 6/3/2017 5:20:31 AM

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Is this guy arguing with himself?

hangtime010 - 6/2/2017 11:26:46 AM

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Car4life1: so the USA sales are the be-all end-all for luxury car sales? And if Audi isn't selling 20K cars per month they're a wannabe?
IMO, the fact that Audi has seen continuous increases for 77th month is an accomplishment that any manufacturer would be proud of.
After all, Audi was on the brink of being extinct because of 60 Minutes and fought their way back. Didn't they sell close to or more than 100K cars in the '80s and were the fastest growing German brand?
Where would they be if 60 Minutes didn't air their false report?

ilovecar2015 - 6/2/2017 2:05:25 PM

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@ dpalmo, a $16K Audi, wouldn't that called VW? MB is sustainable because C, E, GLC, GLE are solid choices.

Firewombat - 6/3/2017 5:22:32 AM

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77 monthly increases and still 4th

CAR54 - 6/4/2017 7:49:26 PM

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F.Y.I., first read read the article, supplies were limited on 2017 CLAs and GLAs. 2018 were released at the end on May and there weren't enough selling days left in the month. Watch CLA and GLA sales in June, the 2018s have been updated and improved. MB does this continuously throughout all their models life span. Remember, a MB is always a MB. A Audi is an expensive VW. A Lexus is an expensive Toyota and a Acura is an expensive Honda. Most people criticizing a Benz have not driven one.