Melbourne - Mercedes-Benz Australia / Pacific has recorded its most successful year of new vehicle sales ever with a string of double-digit sales growth figures that have shadowed those of the overall Australian passenger car / SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle) market.

In response to the new annual sales record of 16,087 passenger vehicles, Horst von Sanden, Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz cars said: “With our sales growing 14.4 percent over last year against the market’s 8.6 percent, and our nearest competitor registering just under half of our growth with 7.3 percent, we believe that our strategy of becoming the first choice for luxury and prestige buyers is on track".

Sales growth highlights from 2006 are numerous, but starring amongst the new milestones was the surge in popularity of the impressive range of turbo-diesel-powered Mercedes-Benz cars amongst new vehicle buyers. An ever-increasing number of Australian customers have made the switch to turbo-diesel power with their new Mercedes, clearly won over by the torque, economy and low emission levels these high-technology engines offer.

“We are extremely pleased that more than 22 percent of the vehicles we sold last year were diesel-powered, an obvious consequence of our long-term commitment to clean and economical diesel passenger vehicles,” said von Sanden.

In the ultra-competitive Small >$40K segment (according to VFACTS) Mercedes-Benz has cemented its lead with 2,871 unit sales of the compact A- & B-Class (equal to 32.2 percent of the segment), an increase in sales of 35 percent on 2006 and almost double the growth seen in this popular segment. The turbo-diesel B 180 CDI accounted for more than a third of B-Class sales, and was the best selling model variant for four months in 2007.

The all-new C-Class achieved impressive sales growth with a 33 percent increase over its popular predecessor, representing more than seven times the overall growth witnessed in this hotly-contested segment. The December sales of 609 C-Class underlines the strength of the all-new model as the first choice for discerning prestige buyers who recognise that prestige can also include outstanding value for money.

The powerful and economical turbo-diesel C 220 CDI accounted for more than 15 percent of W204 C-Class sales.

“The forthcoming arrival of the C-Class estate, due this April, is already generating unprecedented customer inquiry levels and, along with the C-Class sedan, we have had to yet again ask our German factories for more vehicles to fulfil customer demand,” said von Sanden.

The new generation E-Class recorded strong sales growth of 18 percent (more than six times its segment growth) to cement its class leadership with a commanding 29 percent share of the prestigious >$70K segment (according to VFACTS). Together, compared to their collective 2006 sales performance, the E-Class, CLS-Class and R-Class have increased total sales by 14.5 percent in this VFACTS category and they now account for more than 43 percent of sales in the segment. Having offered a diesel option for customers in this segment for well over 30 years, sales of diesel-powered E-Class are as popular as ever, with the E 280 CDI contributing 16 percent to total E-Class sales in 2007.

The R-Class Sports Tourer grew 25 percent over its 2006 sales with more than 50 percent of sales being diesel-engined.

Turbo-diesel-powered M-Class SUV models (the ML 280 CDI and the ML 320 CDI) achieved almost 60 percent of total M-Class sales in 2007.

Impressively, the range-leading GL-Class off-roader sold a total of 605 units for the year (more than 50 percent higher than the launch projection) with almost 70 percent being turbo-diesel-powered.

Combined Mercedes-Benz SUV sales were 3,369 in 2007, an increase of 18.5 percent over 2006. Significantly, 60 percent of these units were diesel-equipped and this rate of growth was much higher than that seen in the total Australian SUV market.

In the exclusive low volume Upper Large >$100K category (according to VFACTS) the peerless S-Class continued its year-long lead with a year-end market share result of greater than 37 percent. This was achieved despite significant retail incentives offered by competitors.

“The introduction of the turbo-diesel S 320 CDI in the coming months will offer further choice to our S-Class customers,” said von Sanden.

The CL-Class coupé, the only true four-seat coupé in its class, has broken all internal Australian sales records for Mercedes-Benz with 136 units sold during 2007 (35 percent higher than forecast at the time of its release in March) and more than the combined sales of its predecessor in the years 2003-2006.

The delivery of 451 vehicles from the exciting Mercedes-AMG range (which constituted 2.8 percent of total Australian new Mercedes-Benz sales in 2007) is a new record for the Australian market and an impressive increase of 21 percent on 2006. Recognised as the broadest range of high performance vehicles in the prestige car market, Mercedes-AMG is set to further stamp its authority on the Australian market. The first quarter of 2008 sees the launch of the brilliant C 63 AMG and the ultra-high performance limited edition CLK 63 AMG Black Series, the stunning coupé based on the Formula One safety car.

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