Mercedes-Benz July 2012 Sales up 5.8%

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C and E-Class vehicles make up over half of Mercedes-Benz brand total sales.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Aug. 1, 2012

2012 Mercedes-Benz C300 – Starting at $34,800 while providing 21/31 mpgUS city/highway. If only it arrived with a European I4 diesel of any type…

Mercedes Benz launched an all-new redesign of their C-Class last year with a major makeover 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 the dash with an integrated display and the glove box, as well as introducing a new grain for the interior panels. The dash accommodates a new standard 5.8-inch display, color gauges and a new-generation telematics system.

Mercedes-Benz July 2012 Sales Results

Mercedes-Benz reported July sales of 22,294 for its entire brand including Mercedes, smart and Sprinter, up 5.8% delivering a record year-to-date total of 164,912, up 18.6% new vehicles.

Mercedes-Benz sales for the month of July were led by the C and E-Class models. The C-Class took the lead with sales of 5,663, up 24.4%. The 9th generation E-Class followed with sales of 5,089, down 0.5%.

At the high end, the all-new iconic sixth generation 2013 SL roadster – which debuted in showrooms this past spring - posted sales of 449 yielding an increase of 382.8% and the flagship coupe, the CL, sold 39 vehicles for an increase of 62.5%. The SLS AMG supercar retailed at 59 for the month, up 20.4% over the same period last year.

smart continued nine consecutive months of sales increases with July sales of 780 compared to the 327 vehicles sold in July 2011 bringing the year-to-date volume to 5,528.

Sprinter vans saw another best-ever sales month in July with 2,203 – up 27.2% over last year and up 30% on a year-to-date basis.

Mercedes-Benz July 2012 Highlights and Overall Sales

Model	July-12	July-11	July-DSR % change	July-12 YTD	July-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
C-Class	5,663	4,554	+34.7%	43,349	34,535	+25.5%
E-Class	5,089	5,114	+7.8%	35,455	37,079	-4.4%
Mercedes-Benz Totals	22,294	21,065	+14.7%	164,912	139,086	+18.6%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 24 days for June 2012 and 26 days for June 2011. Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 178 days for both 2011 and 2012. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 - July 2012 US Automobile Sales Leaders

Sales Rank	Make	Model	July-12	July-11	July-DSR % change	July-12 YTD	July-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
1	Ford	F-Series	49,314	49,104	+8.8%	350,455	313,183	+11.9%
2	Toyota	Camry	29,913	27,016	+20.0%	243,816	174,485	+39.7%
3	Chevrolet	Silverado	28,972	33,121	-5.2%	223,480	215,906	+3.5%
4	Honda	Accord	28,639	16,831	+84.3%	183,817	143,936	+27.7%
5	Nissan	Altima	26,602	21,340	+35.0%	183,703	153,182	+19.9%
6	Honda	Civic	25,004	14,006	+93.4%	187,586	141,577	+32.5%
7	Ram	P/U	23,824	20,311	+27.1%	162,405	132,209	+22.8%
8	Toyota	Corolla	23,640	17,577	+45.7%	175,366	154,324	+13.6%
9	Ford	Fusion	23,326	19,318	+30.8%	160,175	151,004	+6.1%
10	Ford	Escape	21,572	24,411	-4.3%	148,739	147,018	+1.2%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 24 days for July 2012 and 26 days for July 2011. Year-to-date, the DSR is calculated with 178 days for both 2011 and 2012. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 Sales Leaders - Items of note: Camry moved back to number 2 from 3 with the Chevrolet Silverado. F-Series missed the 50,000 mark after four straight months of topping that milestone. Malibu sales fell of a cliff dropping to just 12,345 units and dropping off the Top 10 list hard. Escape fell from 6th to 10th.

B-Segment Sales Rank

1. Nissan Versa - 7,451
2. Chevrolet Sonic - 6,278
3. Hyundai Accent - 5,257
4. Honda Fit - 4,608
5. Ford Fiesta - 4,059
6. Kia Rio - 3,646
7. Toyota Yaris - 1,271
8. Mazda2 - 905

C-Segment Sales Rank

1. Honda Civic - 25,004
2. Toyota Corolla - 23,640
3. Hyundai Elantra - 18,512
4. Ford Focus - 16,454
5. Chevrolet Cruze - 14,954
6. VW Jetta - 13,629
7. Nissan Sentra - 9,888
8. Mazda3 - 9,027
9. Kia Forte - 6,216

D-Segment Sales Rank

1. Toyota Camry - 29,913
2. Honda Accord - 28,639
3. Nissan Altima - 26,602
4. Ford Fusion - 23,326
5. Hyundai Sonata - 20,978
6. Kia Optima - 13,317
7. Chevrolet Malibu - 12,345
8. Chrysler 200 - 9,287
9. VW Passat - 9,007

Segment ranking items of note: In the B-Segment ranks, the Fit and Fiesta swapped positions while Yaris sales fell sharply. The C-Segment ranks did not change other than the Elantra jumping two places ahead of both the Focus and surprising quickly faltering Cruze. The D-Segment ranks saw the Malibu fall towards the bottom of the list.

Automobile Manufacturer's US Sales Rank – July 2012 vs. July 2011 Comparison and Total Sales

1. GM July Sales down 6.4% with 201,237 vehicles sold.
2. Ford July Sales down 3.5% with 173,966 vehicles sold.
3. Toyota July Sales up 26.1% with 164,898 vehicles sold.
4. Chrysler July Sales up 12.6% with 126,089 vehicles sold.
5. Honda July Sales up 45.3% with 116,944 vehicles sold.
6. Nissan July Sales up 16.2% with 98,341 vehicles sold.
7. Hyundai July Sales up 4.1% with 62,021 vehicles sold.
8. Kia July Sales up 5.6% with 48,074 vehicles sold.
9. VW July Sales up 27.3% with 37,014 vehicles sold.
10. BMW July Sales up 4.0% with 27,152 vehicles sold.
11. Subaru July Sales up 15.9% with 25,183 vehicles sold.
12. Mercedes-Benz July Sales up 5.8% with 22,294 vehicles sold.
13. Mazda July Sales down 7.0% with 19,318 vehicles sold.
14. Audi July Sales up 28.0% with 11,707 vehicles sold.

Through the first seven months of 2012, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) is running at approximately 14 million.