Posts by author: Chris

Mercedes-Benz crushes Canadian competitors

mercedes benz e class1 540x359 Mercedes Benz crushes Canadian competitors

Mercedes-Benz Canada continues to defy the recession and outperform its competitors. Sales for March were up 26% compared to last year, and sales for the first quarter of 2009 were up by nearly 20% compared to 2008. This is a remarkable performance for a luxury brand in these uncertain times. Reasons for this success appear to be the wide range of BlueTec diesel vehicles offered, which have struck a chord with buyers tired of gas-guzzling SUVs, and low finance and lease rates. Like in the U.S., E-Class sales are still strong despite the impending arrival of the 2010 W212. Dealers must be offering great deals on the remaining W211s.

Canadian March sales for Mercedes-Benz and its competitors were as follows:
Acura 1,211
Audi 979
BMW 1,711
Infiniti 581
Jaguar 57
Lexus 1,363
Mercedes 2,181
Saab 172
Volvo 491

Press release in full after the break.

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GLK boosts Mercedes-Benz sales in Canada

mercedes benz glk winter driving fun29 540x391 GLK boosts Mercedes Benz sales in Canada

Whoever thought that the economic fortunes of the U.S. and Canada were linked would be puzzled by the fortunes of Mercedes-Benz north and south of the 49th parallel.

While January sales plummeted by an horrific 42.9% compared to January 2008 in the U.S., sales for the same period in Canada grew by 10.3%.

The importance of all this may be insignificant for the Mercedes-Benz hierarchy in Germany, given that the U.S. market is nearly 10 times larger than Canada, but maybe the Canadian success story might help to lift the gloom a little.

The 2010 GLK got off to a very good start, and the E-Class continued to sell well. The E-Class is great value right now – it comes with many options as standard that were previously part of expensive packages, and if you don’t like the new-2010 E-Class, now is the time to buy the outgoing model.

Press release in full after the break.

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Mercedes-Benz shatters annual Canadian sales record

07mbcl550act3500 Mercedes Benz shatters annual Canadian sales record

Amid the doom and gloom affecting Mercedes sales in the United States, it isn’t all bad news in North America. Sales in Canada for 2008 were simply superb – an increase of 30% for Mercedes-Benz, smart, AMG, SLR and Maybach combined. Although the economy here has not tanked as badly as in the U.S. it is still an incredible effort to have increased sales, and by such a huge margin. As each month’s figures were published I expected to see sales fall away, but it just did not happen.

Sales for December 2008 were also impressive compared to the U.S. They increased 12.5% compared to December 2007 for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Press release in full after the break.

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Benz sales in Canada have already surpassed 2007

4matic logo 540x144 Benz sales in Canada have already surpassed 2007

Mercedes-Benz sales for 2008 in Canada have already beaten the sales total for the whole of 2007 – and there is still a whole quarter to go.   We have already heard that sales south of the border in the U.S. have slipped slightly, but in the Great White North the record run has continued.

Diesel sales were very strong, reflecting continuing concerns about gasoline prices. 4-Matic sales were also impressive, perhaps helped along by memories of last winter’s atrocious weather conditions.

Press release in full after the break.

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Diesel driving another record month in Canada

cdi diesel 535x142 Diesel driving another record month in Canada
Diesel SUV sales are driving Mercedes-Benz sales in Canada. Gasoline powered sedans are also flying off the forecourts, but it is the diesel SUVs that are helping Benz to capture sales from European and Japanese rivals such as BMW and Lexus. Neither of these competitors offer any diesel models, and gas-guzzling SUVs are currently about as popular as a mosquito in your camping tent.

Mercedes-Benz Canada reached the half-way point of 2008 by beating the best first half ever, the best second quarter ever, and the best June ever. As their rivals falter, the three-pointed star continues to surge ahead.

Press release in full after the break.

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More evidence of Benz quality improvements

mercedes benz c class01 533x400 More evidence of Benz quality improvements
The return of Mercedes-Benz to its reputation for quality appears to be gathering pace. After the recent successes in the JD Power ratings, a poll for ‘Which?’ magazine in the UK produced great results for the E-Class and C-Class. ‘Which?’ magazine is the UK equivalent of US magazine, ‘Consumer Reports’.

Unfortunately the actual report is subscription only, but Mercedes-Benz UK summarized the findings. The official press release is after the break.

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Spectacular Benz progress in Canada continues

e class smaller3 Spectacular Benz progress in Canada continues

After 4 months of record-breaking success, one might have expected sales to slow a little given the price of fuel and worries over the economy. Not so in Canada. In fact, May was yet another record breaking month.

May 2008 was the best ever month for Mercedes-Benz in Canada. The new-for-2008 C-Class beat the May 2007 sales by an astonishing 350%. Overall, Mercedes-Benz car sales were up by 45% compared to the previous May.

Press release in full after the break.

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Canada strong – but for how long?

c class sport 448x224 Canada strong   but for how long?
Canadian sales for the three-pointed star in April were the best results in the company’s history.  While the whole Canadian light passenger vehicle market grew by 3.7%, Benz was way ahead of the game with gains of 22% over April 2007.  This is a fantastic achievement for a luxury manufacturer, especially when compared to the 3% decline in the U.S.

Much of this success was due to strong diesel sales. If Benz would just roll out diesel across all their models….

How long can the growth continue?  Ontario, Canada’s largest market, may be heading into recession so it can’t last forever, but so far so good for 2008.

Press release in full after the break:

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Ahead of the curve: Canadian sales

c class sport 448x224 Ahead of the curve: Canadian sales
We have been hearing recently about numerous new and facelifted models coming for the 2009 model year, but Mercedes-Benz Canada has been going quietly about its business selling record numbers of 2008 models. The strength of the Canadian dollar, the ‘Loonie’, has enabled Benz to offer cash incentives and lower lease rates, although this is true for all manufacturers so these figures are still very impressive.

Press release in full after the break:

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Another Stellar Month for Benz in Canada

s-class-winter.jpg
Mercedes has completed another record month in the frozen Great White North. 2008 looks like being a fabulous year for the three-pointed star north of the 49th parallel.

Here is the official press release:

Mercedes-Benz reports best February ever

Combined Mercedes-Benz and smart sales up by 28.9%

TORONTO, ON (March 3, 2008) – Mercedes-Benz Canada reported today that a record-breaking total of 1,390 units were registered for the month of February. On the Mercedes-Benz side, a monthly record of 1,196 units were delivered, representing a gain of 212 units or a 21.5% increase compared to February 2007 while we saw a year-to-date growth of 23%. A total of 194 smart fortwos were reported sold in February, up by 106.4%. The combined Mercedes-Benz and smart sales showed an increase of 312 units or gains of 28.9% for the month and 33.5% on a year-to-date basis.

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