Mercedes September 2012 Sales Up 8.7%

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C-Class continues to dominate the manufacturers sales charts.

Wayne Gerdes - CleanMPG - Oct. 2, 2012

Mercedes Benz C-Class - $35,350 to start (up $550 from 2012) and an unusually low 22/31 mpgUS city/highway when equipped with the 201 HP 1.8L mated to the 7-speed AT.

For 2013, the C-Class Sedan & Coupe now features Mercedes Benz infotainment system called mbrace2. A new AMG Sports Package Plus includes enhanced exhaust tuning, special sport interior with contrasting seatbelts, 18" 7-twin-spoke wheels and–on coupes–revised front suspension. DISTRONIC PLUS now available as a stand-alone option.

The C250 Coupe & Sport/Luxury Sedan is now equipped with a 201 HP and 229 lb-ft. of torque direct-injected and turbocharged 1.8L I4 as standard equipment.

The C300 4MATIC Sport/Luxury Sedan includes a new 248 HP direct-injection 3.5L V6 and also for whatever reason includes ECO Start/Stop and standard 4MATIC all-wheel drive.

The C350 Coupe & Sport Sedan receives ECO Start/Stop with the same 3.5L engine and 4MATIC all-wheel drive is available on the coupe.

Mercedes Benz September Sales Results

Mercedes this morning reported record US September sales of 23,156 for its Mercedes-Benz models, up 7%, delivering a record year-to-date total of 191,618 new vehicles to customers, up 12.7%.

Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, smart and Sprinter for the month totaled a record for MBUSA of 25,980, up 8.7% bringing the year-to-date total to 214,331 up 16.7%.

Mercedes-Benz sales for the month of September were led by the C-, E- and GLK-Class model lines. The C-Class –took the sales lead with 7,872 reaching new drives last month, up 14.7%.

The 9th generation E-Class followed by the refreshed GLK compact SUV rounded out the top three with sales of 4,826 and 3,206 respectively.

On a year-to-date basis, top performers were the C-Class with 57,740, the E-Class with 44,796 and the M-Class with 27,098.

Sales of the company's BlueTEC diesel models were up 28.5% for the year at 11,182 compared to the 8,700 diesels sold over the same period last year.

smart continued its sales uptick streak with eleven consecutive months of increases and its highest month ever since MBUSA took over the brand last year. September sales of 1,030 brings the year-to-date volume to 7,311.

On the van side, Sprinter sold 1,794 vehicles in September, up .8% over last year and up 23.7% on a year-to-date basis.

MB Sept 2012 Highlights and Overall Sales

Model	Sept-12	Sept-11	Sept-DSR % change	Sept-12 YTD	Sept-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
C-Class	7,872	6,865	+14.7%	57,740	46,128	+24.6%
E-Class	4,826	5,122	-5.8%	44,796	47,824	-6.7%
MB Totals	25,980	23,893	+8.7%	214,331	183,690	+16.2%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 25 days for both Sept 2012 and Sept 2011. Year-to-date,
the DSR is calculated with 230 days for all of 2012 and 229 for all of 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.

Top 10 - Sept 2012 US Automobile Sales Leaders

Sales Rank	Make	Model	Sept-12	Sept-11	Sept-DSR % change	Sept-12 YTD	Sept-11 YTD	YTD-DSR % change
1	Ford	F-Series	55,077	54,410	+1.2%	463,733	416,388	+10.9%
2	Chevrolet	Silverado	36,425	43,698	-16.6%	298,200	296,436	+.2%
3	Toyota	Camry	34,252	24,851	+37.8%	314,788	229,521	+36.6%
4	Honda	Accord	29,182	18,639	+56.6%	247,847	181,014	+36.3%
5	RAM	P/U	25,973	24,522	+5.9%	213,593	177,973	+19.5%
6	Chevrolet	Cruze	25,787	18,097	+42.5%	180,600	187,524	-4.1%
7	Nissan	Altima	24,448	24,356	+0.4%	234,040	200,554	+16.2%
8	Ford	Escape	23,148	20,225	+ 14.5%	200,075	187,850	+6.0%
9	Toyota	Corolla	23,026	16,147	+42.6%	222,703	186,891	+18.6%
10	Honda	CR-V	22,268	19,604	+13.6%	213,381	161,035	+31.9%

The daily selling rate (DSR) is calculated with 25 days for both Sept 2012 and Sept 2011. Year-to-date,
the DSR is calculated with 230 days for all of 2012 and 229 for all of 2011. All percentages reflect DSR.

B-Segment Sales Rank

1. Nissan Versa - 8,016
2. Chevrolet Sonic - 7,525
3. Honda Fit - 4,660
4. Hyundai Accent - 4,313
5. Fiat 500 - 4,176
6. Ford Fiesta - 3,923
7. Kia Rio - 3,171
8. Toyota Yaris - 1,118
9. Mazda2 - 756

C-Segment Sales Rank

1. Chevrolet Cruze - 25,787
2. Toyota Corolla - 23,026
3. Honda Civic - 21,546
4. Ford Focus - 19,736
5. Hyundai Elantra - 18,305
6. VW Jetta - 14,750
7. Mazda3 - 14,031
8. Nissan Sentra - 9,345
9. Kia Forte - 6,912
10. Dodge Dart - 5,235

D-Segment Sales Rank

1. Toyota Camry - 34,252
2. Honda Accord - 29,182
3. Nissan Altima - 24,448
4. Hyundai Sonata - 17,332
5. Kia Optima - 14,304
6. Ford Fusion - 12,300
7. Chevrolet Malibu - 11,188
8. Chrysler 200 - 9,881
9. VW Passat - 9,500

Segment ranking items of note: In the B-Segment, the Accent and Fit swapped positions, and the Fiat 500 outsold the Fiesta for the first time.

The C-Segment ranks saw the Cruze maintain the 1st spot for the second month in a row and the Civic swapped with Corolla.

The D-Segment ranks saw the Fusion fall behind the Sonata and Optima with the all-new Malibu trailing off quickly.

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

1. GM Sept Sales up 1.5% with 210,245 vehicles sold.
   
2. Ford Sept Sales Flat with 174,976 vehicles sold.
   
3. Toyota Sept Sales up 41.5% with 171,910 vehicles sold.
   
4. Chrysler Sept Sales up 11.5% with 142,041 vehicles sold.
   
5. Honda Sept Sales up 30.9% with 117,211 vehicles sold.
   
6. Nissan Sept Sales down 1.1% with 91,907 vehicles sold.
   
7. Hyundai Sept Sales up 15.3% with 60,025 vehicles sold.
   
8. Kia Sept Sales up 35.1% with 48,105 vehicles sold.
   
9. VW Sept Sales up 34.4% with 36,339 vehicles sold.
   
10. Subaru Sept Sales up 32.2% with 27,683 vehicles sold.
    
11. BMW Sept Sales up 3.5% with 26,660 vehicles sold.
    
12. MB Sept Sales up 8.7% with 25,980 vehicles sold.
    
13. Mazda Sept Sales down 5.4% with 24,135 vehicles sold.
    
14. Audi Sept Sales up 26.5% with 12,302 vehicles sold.

Through the first nine months of 2012, the Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate (SAAR) is running at approximately 14.9 million.