Mercedes Car Group Notes 16% Increase In February Sales

Posted by www.eMercedesBenz.com on March 6, 2006
Welcome back ladies and gents, I hope you all had a great weekend.  
Unfortunately for me, five inches of snow yesterday put a slight  
damper on my planned outdoor activities, but what can you expect when  
you live in the Midwest?

To get things started this morning, DaimlerChrysler has put out a  
press release detailing the sales figures for the Mercedes Car Group.

Mercedes' sales worldwide, much like MBUSA's earlier reported  
figures, show a significant increase over February of 2005. In total,  
the Mercedes Car Group has posted sales of 83,800 units, an increase  
of 16% over last year's numbers.  For January and February combined,  
Mercedes have noted an eight percent increase over 2005 with 156,000  
units sold.

Individually, the Mercedes-Benz brand performed exceptionally well,  
noting an increase in February of 23% with 76,100 units sold  
(compared to 61,800 in February 2005).  As can be expected, sales of  
the new M-Class, B-Class, R-Class, and of course the S-Class were all  
particularly strong.  To date, the Mercedes-Benz brand has noted an  
increase in sales of 14% over the first two months of 2005.

Smart, on the other hand, didn't fare nearly as well. The mini-car  
brand noted sales of 7,700 units, a decline of 25.9% over February of  
2005. To date, the smart brand is trailing the first two months of  
2005 by 27%. Wait a minute, didn't Daimler just spend $1.3 billion on  
realigning the smart business model?  I see it's working well.

For more sales info, you can get all the details, including sales  
numbers for individual regions, by visiting www.eMercedesBenz.com.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Sales at Mercedes Car Group up 16 percent in February

Stuttgart, Mar 06, 2006

In February 2006, sales of Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart brand  
cars rose by 16 percent to 83,800 units (February 2005: 72,300). For  
the first two months of the year, sales amounted to 156,600 vehicles,  
an increase of eight percent on the figure for January and February  
2005 (145,000 units).

At Mercedes-Benz, sales rose in February by 23 percent to 76,100  
units (February 2005: 61,800 units). Growth was particularly strong  
worldwide for the new B-, M-, R- and S-Class models. Through the end  
of February, Mercedes-Benz delivered 140,600 passenger cars to  
customers around the world, up by 14 percent on the figure for the  
first two months of 2005.

The growth in February was buoyed by rising sales in all regions.  
Customer deliveries in Western Europe rose 18 percent in February to  
42,800 units. Mercedes-Benz continued to post substantial growth in  
the U.S., increasing sales by 28 percent to 17,400 passenger cars.  
And in the Asia/Pacific region, sales jumped by 38 percent to the  
record level of 9,500 units.

A sales record of 8.100 vehicles was also achieved in February by the  
new S-Class, which further strengthened its position as the world’s  
best-selling luxury sedan. Following a very successful launch in  
Europe and Asia, Mercedes-Benz’ flagship model was also introduced to  
the United States, its main sales market, in February. Sales are  
expected to receive an additional boost from the market launch in the  
UK and from the introduction of diesel models.

Sales of the new M-Class continued to grow in February as well, with  
all major markets contributing to the increase in sales to 7,300  
units worldwide. In Western Europe, the premium off-roader has again  
been the best-selling vehicle in its class since September 2005.


smart delivers 16,000 vehicles to customers through February

In February 2006, the smart brand delivered 7,700 vehicles to  
customers worldwide. For the first two months of the year, sales  
totaled 16,000 units.

For more Mercedes-Benz news and information, visit  
www.eMercedesBenz.com.