I could tell you that October was a difficult month for Mercedes-Benz USA, but that, my friends, would be a gross understatement.  It was an abysmal month for the company, with MBUSA's new passenger car sales dropping a horrendous 34.3 percent to 14,996 new units (compared to 22,820 new units in October 2007).  As a result, MBUSA's year-to-date sales are now down 5.3 percent to 192,294 new units – this compared to 203,085 new units through the first ten months of 2007.

Individually, there was one model that didn't note a sales decline in October – the Mercedes M-Class.  The luxury SUV managed to gain 7.1 percent over last October with 3,150 new units sold, compared to 2,942 new units the prior year.  Every other model noted a substantial sales decrease, including the volume leading C-Class and E-Class models.  For the C-Class, sales dipped 39.9 percent to 4,594 new units (October 2007:  7,646 new units), while the E-Class fared even worse, dropping 49.8 percent to 2,098 new units sold (October 2007:  4,176 new units).

All in all, it was a terrible month at Mercedes-Benz USA.

To read more about how poorly sales at MBUSA fared in October, keep reading for the official press release.



OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


MBUSA Reports October New Car Sales of 14,996

MONTVALE, N.J. – Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported October sales of 14,996 vehicles, bringing the company’s year-to-date volume to 192,294, a 5.3 percent decrease over the year-to-date record set last year.

Sales highlights for Mercedes-Benz USA include a 7.1 percent increase in M-Class SUV sales for the month. 3,150 M-Class vehicles were sold compared to 2,942 M-Class vehicles in October 2007. For the year-to-date, the popularity of the M-Class line of SUVs continued momentum with a 6.5 percent increase in sales (28,648 units vs. 26,902 units). Year-to-date sales of the volume-leading C-Class also grew. 61,959 C-Class models were sold so far in 2008, compared to the 49,882 units in the same period last year, marking a 24.2 percent increase.

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 4,807 vehicles in October, an increase of 21.1 percent over October 2007. This brings its certified pre-owned sales to 52,753 units year-to-date, a 22 percent jump over the same period last year (43,224 units). This marks a record-breaking year for MBCPO sales, as MBUSA has sold more vehicles to date in 2008 than it sold in all of 2007 (50,929 units).


Mercedes-Benz USA October 2008 Sales Overview