July 08, 2020 – Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans delivers more than a million vehicles worldwide in first half of 2020.
Mercedes-Benz has further intensified its customer contact in the second quarter using numerous digital services and tools. The high flexibility of its global dealers, the attractive product portfolio and the strength of the Mercedes-Benz brand were reflected in its car sales: in June, global deliveries were again slightly above the previous year’s level (+0.6%). Since the beginning of the year, Mercedes-Benz achieved a better development than the overall luxury car market in some European markets and in its domestic market in Germany. In the USA, the company took the leading position among luxury car brands in terms of unit sales in the first half of the year. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Stuttgart-based brand with the three-pointed star achieved a new sales record from April to June.
Mercedes-Benz’s best second quarter to date in China shows the impressive speed at which demand is currently recovering in our largest market. From April to June, the effects of coronavirus had a strong impact on our deliveries in Europe and North America. By now nearly all of our worldwide dealerships have reopened. Our customers’ interest in buying is high and we have been receiving very positive feedback on the numerous online activities of our global dealers. That is giving us grounds for optimism with regard to the sales trend in the third quarter. In Europe, deliveries of our plug-in hybrids have more than quadrupled since the beginning of the year compared with the previous year period. The current number of xEV orders received by Mercedes-Benz Cars is also a positive sign for the second half of the year: in the next six months, we anticipate a significant sales effect from our ongoing electric offensive.
Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans unit sales
Mercedes-Benz sold 935,089 cars with the three-pointed star in the first half of the year (-17.6%). With the smart brand, the switch to a purely battery-electric drive had a significant impact on previous year comparison in sales: worldwide, 10,101 two-door and four-door urban microcars were handed over to customers since the beginning of the year (-83.3%). Mercedes-Benz Cars thus sold a total of 945,190 cars from the Mercedes-Benz and smart brands in the first half of the year (-20.9%). At Mercedes-Benz Vans with regard to vehicles for commercial use, the global COVID-19 pandemic was clearly impacting the first half of 2020. Especially because of the lockdown measures in April and May, this led to a 25.6% decrease in unit sales in the first half of the year compared with the previous year period. A total of 125,946 units of the Sprinter, Vito, Vito Tourer and Citan were sold in the first half of the year.
The lockdown was not without impact for us. But we have do have a very strong product portfolio. The Mercedes-Benz vans have been quite noticeable on the road in these challenging times – because of numerous delivery services or as transporters in the health care sector among others. It is particularly pleasing that the market in China has recovered so quickly and that we were able to increase unit sales of our commercial vans there by 35%. We are continuing to push ahead with the electrification of our products. In the second quarter, the eSprinter and the EQV became available for order and will trigger additional demand. We are thus further strengthening our leading position in this segment. We are also optimistic that our Marco Polo models will win new customers in the motorhome segment.
Mercedes-Benz car unit sales by region and market
In the Europe region, Mercedes-Benz delivered 313,490 cars in the period from January to June (-31.5%). In Germany, Mercedes-Benz sold 106,167 units in the first half of the year (-27.9%). In its domestic market, Mercedes-Benz again had the most new-car registrations among the luxury car brands in the first six months of the year. In the Asia-Pacific region, the Stuttgart-based brand with the star had its best second quarter to date with unit sales of 259,404 passenger cars (+8.9%). This milestone was reached primarily due to the positive development in the biggest market, China: there, sales of 207,107 units were more than 35,000 units above the previous record for a second quarter (+21.6%). Sales from January to June were in China also above previous year (+0.4%). Deliveries in the North America region totalled 146,538 units since the beginning of the year (-16.0%). In the region’s core market, the USA, Mercedes-Benz delivered 127,207 passenger cars in the first half of 2020 (-13.7%).
Overview of Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans retail unit sales
| Q2 2020 | Change in % | H1 2020 | Change in % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Including the V-Class and the X-Class **The retail unit sales of the Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans divisions were presented together for the first time in the press release on unit sales in the first quarter of 2020, so there is no comparative period. |
||||
| Mercedes-Benz* | 457,711 | -20.2 | 935,089 | -17.6 |
| smart | 4,238 | -87.3 | 10,101 | -83.3 |
| Mercedes-Benz Cars | 461,949 | -23.9 | 945,190 | -20.9 |
| Mercedes-Benz Vans (commercial models) | 61,358 | -34.3 | 125,946 | -25.6 |
| Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans** | 523,307 | 1,071,136 | ||
| Car unit sales by the Mercedes-Benz brand by region/market | ||||
| Europe | 124,527 | -46.5 | 313,490 | -31.5 |
| – thereof Germany | 41,835 | -45.5 | 106,167 | -27.9 |
| Asia-Pacific | 259,404 | +8.9 | 458,253 | -4.2 |
| – thereof China | 207,107 | +21.6 | 346,067 | +0.4 |
| North America | 68,037 | -24.7 | 146,538 | -16.0 |
| – thereof USA | 59,461 | -22.0 | 127,207 | -13.7 |
This page contains forward-looking statements.