Mercedes February 2012 Sales up 21.7%

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The C and M are the highlights. Everything else is an afterthought.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - March 1, 2012

The Mercedes-Benz C-Class – From the C250 Sport Sedan starting at $35,675 to the ultra expensive C63 AMG Black Series at a ridiculous $105,000, they are packed with luxury even if they are smaller and cost more than twice what an average B-Segment fuel miser does today.

For the 2012 model year, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class is available as a two-door coupe and four door sedan.

The popular four-door sedan has undergone a major restyling involving 2,000 new parts, including new bumpers, headlights, front grille, an aluminum hood, LED taillights and a redesigned interior. Interior design work focused on restyling the C-Class dash, its integrated display and the glove box, as well as introducing a new grain for the interior panels. The dash accommodates a new 5.8-inch display, color gauges and a new-generation telematics system. A prominent trim piece extends from the center vents across the front passenger area to the right-side vent, while trapezoidal air vents in the center and the round vents near the doors are accented with metallic trim.

Safety

In addition, there are 13 new standard equipment features on the 2012 C-Class sedan and coupe line, as well as five new safety systems. Standard-equipment Attention Assist warns drivers when they get drowsy, and a new HOLD feature for the Adaptive Brake system keeps the car from rolling when stopped. Optional Blind Spot Assist provides a warning whenever a turn signal is activated with a car in a blind spot, while Lane Keeping Assist alerts drivers if the car drifts from its lane without the turn signals on. Parktronic now incorporates a parking guidance system that can identify right-size parking spaces and provide helpful steering guidance in the instrument cluster.

Powertrain(s)

The coupe and sedan are available in three different models: the C250, powered by a new 201 HP, direct-injected and turbocharged 1.8L I4; the C350, with a 302 HP direct injected 3.5L V6; and the high-performance C63 AMG model with a normally aspirated 451 HP 6.3L V8 and MCT multi-clutch transmission. Lastly, the C-Class sedan is available as a C300, with standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive and a 228 HP 3.0L V6.

And the fuel economy? Pitiful for a car smaller than the Chevrolet Sonic that provides 25 mpgUS at best and at its worst, a whopping 15 mpgUS combined in AMG Coupe form. I hate to say it but anyone who purchases the C63 AMG has fewer brains than their wallet and wallets are not known to have any grey matter either!

Mercedes-Benz February sales of 19,679 vehicles rose 21.7 % over February 2011 and was the star’s highest February volume on record. On a year-to-date basis, the 41,398 vehicles sold represent a 23.8% increase.

The company reported sales increases over virtually all its model lines from the entry point to the high-end although it was the C and M that powered the sales increase.

Sales for the month of February were led by the C-, E-, and M-Class models. The C-Class took the sales lead with 5,240 vehicles sold, up 17.0% over February 2011. The 9th generation E-Class came in right behind with sales of 4,206 and MBUSA's top-selling SUV, the M-Class, rounded out the top three with sales of 3,408, up 77.1% compared to February 2011.

Amidst rising gas prices, diesel sales increased to 1,415, up 81.9% over the same period last year (778).

Smart continued four consecutive months of sales increases with February sales of 769 vehicles, a 58.9% jump for the month (compared to the 484 vehicles sold in February 2011). The February volume is the highest on record for smart since MBUSA assumed responsibility in July 2011.

On the van side, sales of Sprinter Vans also saw strong sales in February with sales of 830, up 16.6% over last year.

Mercedes February 2012 Overall Sales

Model	Feb-12	Feb -11	Feb -DSR % change	Feb -12 YTD	Feb -11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
C	5,240	4,479	+12.3%	11,765	8,651	+33.2%
Mercedes Feb. 2012 Sales Totals	19,679	16,176	+16.8%	41,398	33,449	+21.2%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 25 days Feb. of 2012 and 24 days for Feb. of 2011.
Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 49 days for 2012 and 48 days for 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 – February 2012 US Automobile Sales Leaders

Sales Rank	Make	Model	Feb-12	Feb-11	Feb-DSR % change	Feb-12 YTD	Feb-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
1	Ford	F-Series	47,273	37,549	+20.9%	85,766	73,355	+14.5%
2	Toyota	Camry	34,542	27,212	+21.9%	62,837	45,357	+35.7%
3	Nissan	Altima	32,953	20,808	+52.0%	55,310	37,262	+45.4%
4	Chevrolet	Silverado	32,297	31,728	-2.3%	59,147	59,900	-3.3%
5	Honda	Civic	27,087	19,121	+36.0%	48,970	33,755	+42.1%
6	Honda	CR-V	24,759	19,096	+24.5%	43,719	35,435	+20.9%
7	Ford	Focus	23,350	10,879	+106.0%	37,750	19,893	+85.9%
8	Ram	P/U	22,595	18,644	+16.3%	40,504	30,841	+28.7%
9	Toyota	Corolla	22,148	25,860	-17.8%	40,136	46,441	-15.3%
10	Ford	Fusion	21,773	23,111	-9.6%	35,387	37,457	-7.5%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 25 days Feb. of 2012 and 24 days for Feb. of 2011.
Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 49 days for 2012 and 48 days for 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 Sales Leaders items of note: Silverado sales fell to fourth on the list behind F-Series, Camry and Altima vs. third last month. Cruze sales fell out of the top 10 although it still sold over 20,000 units.

B-Segment Sales Rank

1. Nissan Versa - 10,190
2. Chevrolet Sonic - 7,900
3. Hyundai Accent - 5,806
4. Ford Fiesta - 5,518
5. Honda Fit - 4,227
6. Toyota Yaris - 3,611
7. Kia Rio - 3,598

C-Segment Sales Rank

1. Honda Civic - 27,087
2. Ford Focus - 23,350
3. Toyota Corolla - 22,148
4. Chevrolet Cruze - 20,427
5. Hyundai Elantra - 13,820
6. VW Jetta - 11,694
7. Nissan Sentra - 10,605

D-Segment Sales Rank

1. Toyota Camry - 34,542
2. Nissan Altima - 32,953
3. Ford Fusion - 21,773
4. Honda Accord - 20,702
5. Chevrolet Malibu - 19,987
6. Hyundai Sonata - 17,425
7. Kia Optima - 11,558
8. VW Passat - 8,189

Segment ranking items of note: Fiesta outsold the Fit. Rio is quickly catching up to the Yaris. The Focus outsold all but the Civic and leapt past the Corolla and Cruze. The Accord jumped up 2 spots topping both the Malibu and Sonata. Fusion jumped 4 spots passing the Accord, Malibu and Sonata.

Automobile Manufacturer's US Sales Rank - February 2012 vs. February 2011 Comparison and Total Sales

1. GM February Sales up 1.1% with 209,306 vehicles sold.
2. Ford February Sales up 14.4% with 179,119 vehicles sold.
3. Toyota February Sales up 12.4% with 159,423 vehicles sold.
4. Chrysler February Sales up 40.4% with 133,521 vehicles sold.
5. Honda February Sales up 12.3% with 110,157 vehicles sold.
6. Nissan February Sales up 10.9% with 106,731 vehicles sold.
7. Hyundai February Sales up 17.5% with 51,151 vehicles sold.
8. Kia February Sales up 37.3% with 45,038 vehicles sold.
9. VW February Sales up 42.5% with 30,577 vehicles sold.
10. BMW February Sales up 31.5% with 26,184 vehicles sold.
11. Mazda February Sales up 32.2% with 25,651 vehicles sold.
12. Subaru February Sales up 17.0% with 25,374 vehicles sold.
13. Mercedes-Benz February Sales up 21.7% with 19,679 vehicles sold.
14. Audi February Sales up 10.0% with 8,531 vehicles sold.