Unfortunately I had to head out of the office a bit early yesterday causing me to miss the first round of financials published by our very own Mercedes-Benz USA, and for this I sincerely apologize; if you missed them yesterday, however, here they are - a day late, but exciting nonetheless.

In October, sales at Mercedes' U.S. division rose an impressive 12.3 percent to 20,598 new units, the highest ever October on record for the company. This number brings Mercedes-Benz USA's year-to-date total to 197,599 units, an increase of 13.2% over the 2005's ten month ytd total.

As for what helped contribute to the increase, sales were impacted positively by a number of various model successes.  Mercedes' newly-launched diesel models performed respectably, with sales of the ML320 CDI, R320CDI and E320 BLUETEC totaling 829 units.  Mercedes' V12 lineup, comprised of the CL600, CL65, S600, S65, SL600 and SL65, also noted a slight ytd jump, with sales through October 22.2% higher than the same period last year.  And finally, sales in the Mercedes luxury light truck segment continued their positive ways, with sales of the R-, G-, GL- and M-Class noting a combined 70% increase over last October with 6,241 units sold.

Overall, another superb month for MBUSA.

For more info, keep reading for Mercedes-Benz USA's full press release detailing all of October's sales figures, including individual model statistics.

Enjoy.


OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE


FRONT RUNNERS IN AUTOMOTIVE SALES: MERCEDES-BENZ DIESELS and V12s

Mercedes-Benz USA SUVs, Diesels, and V12s Boost Sales for Best October On Record

MONTVALE, N.J. – Election Day may still be a week away, but Mercedes-Benz customers are casting their “automotive votes” through purchases of powerful and fuel-efficient vehicles, all indicators pointing to a positive road ahead for diesel-powered SUVs, like those introduced by Mercedes-Benz in October.

For the ninth consecutive month, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) has marked record-breaking sales with today’s announcement that the company has achieved its highest October sales ever with 20,598 new vehicles sold, an increase of 12.3 percent over last October. This brings MBUSA’s year-to-date sales to 197,599, a 13.2 percent increase over the same period in 2005.

Building on its heritage as the leader in diesel-powered passenger vehicles, Mercedes-Benz introduced three new diesel models in October – the ML320 CDI SUV, R320 CDI SUV, and the all-new E320 BLUETEC which represents the world’s cleanest diesel technology. MBUSA sold 829 such vehicles for the month and posted a 22.8 percent increase in diesel-powered vehicle sales for the year-to-date (4,282 units).

But fuel economy didn’t overshadow another popular candidate: Power. As a group, Mercedes-Benz V12 models represented an increase of 22.2 percent for the year-to-date compared to the same period last year (1,868 vs. 1,529). V12 models include the CL600, CL65, S600, S65, SL600, and SL65.

Additionally, contrary to industry trends, Mercedes-Benz vehicles in the luxury light truck segment – M-Class, R-Class, GL-Class and G-Class – continued to demonstrate impressive gains with a combined 70 percent increase over last October (6,241 vs. 3,671) and an 84.5 percent increase over year-to-date 2005 (53,595 vs. 29,043).

Highlights for the month include a 4.8 percent increase of volume-leading E-Class sales over last October (4,895 vs. 4,670). In addition, boosted by strong sales of its flagship S-Class model line which showed a dramatic 79.5 percent increase in sales, Mercedes-Benz high-end vehicles (S-, SL- and CL-Classes) as a group marked a 41.5 percent increase compared to last October (3,170 vs. 2,241) and a 51.2 percent increase year-to-date over the first 10 months of 2005 (33,160 vs. 21,930).

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, MBUSA sold 3,835 vehicles in October, an increase of 13.1 percent over last October, bringing the year-to-date total to 39,622 units, a 6.2 percent increase over the same period in 2005.


October Sales Chart