Following the best-selling quarter in its history so far, Mercedes-Benz achieved record unit sales once again in October. The brand with the three-pointed star started the fourth quarter with worldwide sales of 155,189 vehicles and growth of 10.1% in October. In the first ten months of the year, 1,531,541 vehicles were delivered to customers, surpassing the record set in the prior-year period by 14.6%.
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz sold 659,106 units in the first ten months of the year (+10.8%). Sales in October climbed to a new record (65,390 units, +7.8%), partially due to the launch of the GLC. In Germany, 24,227 vehicles were delivered to customers last month (+1.9%). This means that Mercedes-Benz continues to be the market leader amongst the premium manufacturers in the home market. Growth in October was particularly strong in Spain (+29.4%) and Italy (+25.0%). In Great Britain, Belgium, Sweden, Portugal and Switzerland, more cars were sold than ever before in one month. In Spain, Russia and Switzerland Mercedes-Benz is the premium brand with the highest number of new registrations.
In the NAFTA region, 33,297 customers received their new Mercedes-Benz vehicle in October (+1.8%). Since the beginning of the year 320,186 units were sold there – an increase of 7.9%. In the first ten months of the year, more cars than ever were delivered to customers in the USA (+6.5%), Canada (+18.3%) and Mexico (+17.4%). In the biggest NAFTA market, the USA, sales in the period of the first ten months rose to 278,842 vehicles. Mercedes-Benz gained the market leadership amongst the premium manufacturers in Canada.
New highs were achieved in the Asia-Pacific region in both October and the first ten months of the year. Since the beginning of the year unit sales increased by more than a quarter to 497,914 vehicles. In China, the total number of cars sold in 2014 was already surpassed in October, with 299,375 vehicles delivered to customers in the first ten months of the year (+32.1%). This was partially due to another sales record in October, with an increase of 42.9% to 33,088 units. In Japan, 53,616 vehicles were sold in the last ten months (+11.7%). Mercedes-Benz is the market leader amongst the premium manufacturers in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.