Welcome back ladies and gentlemen, I hope you all had a great Super Bowl weekend.

To kick things off today, DaimlerChrysler has put out a press release detailing January sales for the Mercedes Car Group. In total, the Mercedes-Benz and smart car brands sold 72,700 passenger cars worldwide, compared to 71,900 in January of 2005.  Separately, the Mercedes-Benz brand noted an increase of 5% last month with 61,300 units being sold, while smart posted a 22.6% decline with 8,200 units being sold.

DaimlerChrysler attributes Mercedes' worldwide success to the introduction of new models, including the B-Class, M-Class and R-Class, and further growth is expected here in the United States thanks to the February launch of their new flagship S-Class.

For more info as well as an individual breakdown of sales by region, check out DaimlerChrysler's full press release below.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


Mercedes Car Group starts new year with a slight sales increase

Stuttgart, Feb 06, 2006

The Mercedes Car Group started the new year with a slight increase in unit sales to 72,700 passenger cars in January (January 2005: 71,900). Mercedes-Benz delivered 64,500 passenger cars to customers worldwide, an increase of five percent on the 61,300 units delivered in January 2005. This positive development was primarily due to the successful launch of the new B-, M-, R- and S Class models. Mainly the new Mercedes-Benz flagship model is in great demand around the globe: Following its debut in the fall of 2005, the S-Class is once again the best-selling luxury sedan in the world.

Mercedes-Benz continues to grow rapidly in the Asia/Pacific region, where deliveries to customers rose by 19 percent to 8,700 units in January. This development was led by high demand in Japan (2,600 passenger cars, up 40 percent) and record sales in China, including Hong Kong (1,700 passenger cars, up 47 percent). Nearly all Mercedes-Benz models contributed to the growth recorded in Asia, and the new S Class was particularly successful, posting record sales in January.

In the United States, Mercedes-Benz continued its solid performance from the prior year, increasing sales in that market by three percent to 12,500 units. Additional sales momentum can be expected from the launch of the new S Class in the U.S. in February. In Western Europe deliveries rose one percent in January to 36,000 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars.

smart delivers 8,200 vehicles worldwide in January 2006

The smart brand delivered 8,200 units in January 2006. A direct comparison to the previous year’s figure is not possible because a major contract was concluded with a business customer in January 2005. The smart fortwo continued to display stable sales development. The response to the smart fortwo special edition “grandstyle” was especially positive; more than 4,000 orders had been placed for the model just a few weeks after the announcement of its launch.

Overview of Mercedes Car Group sales

Copyright © 2006, DaimlerChrysler AG