This 3rd quarter of 2020 might be rough for many companies around the world, but not for the three pointed star. Yes, sales have not equaled or surpassed the numbers recorded during the same period last year, 2019, but considering the Cobid-19 pandemic, this has been a good quarter for this luxury car brand and its commercial vehicle range.
Mercedes-Benz dealers in Malaysia have had a good run during the current ongoing sales tax discount holiday as some Malaysians decide its time to have a new Benz in their garage and the pre-owned section of selected Benz dealers are also seeing good response in quality used Benz’s.
The launch of the all new Mercedes-Benz compact family SUV, the GLB also brought customers into showrooms, many new to the brand as its launch price of from RM269,118 made it accessible to some Malaysians.
The arrival of the compact Mercedes AMG range in June 2020 which included the A35 AMG, the AMG CLA 45 S 4Matic+ and the AMG 4Matic+ Edition 1 also brought performance seekers into showrooms.
Press Release: The recovery of worldwide retail passenger car sales by Mercedes-Benz continued in the third quarter despite ongoing challenging conditions.
Global sales of 613,770 passenger cars in the period of July to September were higher than in the prior-year quarter for the first time this year (+3.9%) due to the positive development in China and rising customer demand in many other markets.
The attractive model portfolio and numerous measures taken by dealerships to respond best possible to customer inquiries and interest even during the COVID-19 pandemic provided additional sales support in the third quarter. In order to meet the high level of customer demand at short notice, dealerships’ inventories were reduced worldwide.
China continued to be the main driver of Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales as the market continued its rapid recovery in the third quarter (+23.4%). In Germany, the domestic market of Mercedes-Benz, sales in the past three months were higher than in the prior-year quarter for the first time this year (+4.0%).
“Demand from our customers in the third quarter was significantly higher than we had assumed in March and April in view of the challenges posed by the pandemic. We are pleased with customers’ positive response to our models and the increasing demand in many markets. However, the third quarter also shows how regionally diverse the situation still is in the markets and for our dealerships. We will therefore monitor developments very closely in the fourth quarter, but the current level of demand is encouraging”, said Britta Seeger, Member of the Boards of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG responsible for Marketing and Sales. “Rising orders received in particular for plug-in hybrids with the three-pointed star are a great customer feedback on our growing portfolio. From July to September, we had the first quarter so far with more than 10,000 xEVs delivered monthly by Mercedes-Benz Cars. The high demand for the electrified models has been sustained, especially in Europe.”
Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans unit sales
Mercedes-Benz sold 1,548,859 premium and luxury vehicles worldwide in the first three quarters of the year, thus continuing its upward sales trend (-10.2%). At the smart brand, global unit sales were still below the previous year’s level due to the changeover to purely battery-electric drive; a total of 22,006 two- and four-door urban micro-cars were handed over to customers in the first nine months of the year (-74.9%).
Mercedes-Benz Cars thus delivered a total of 1,570,865 cars of the Mercedes-Benz and smart brands from January to September (-13.4%). At Mercedes-Benz vans with vehicles for the commercial sector, a further market recovery was noticeable in the third quarter of 2020 under corona conditions. Unit sales increased by 11.2% in the third quarter, particularly due to positive developments in China and Europe. In total, 95,933 units of the Sprinter, Vito, Vito Tourer and Citan were sold in the third quarter.
