Mercedes-Benz in 2017: Number 1 in the premium segment

Mercedes-Benz achieved its most successful year of all time in 2017, increasing its unit sales by 9.9% to 2,289,344 vehicles. The car division’s growth last year was driven in particular by the new E-Class Saloon and Estate and the SUVs. As a result of its success in all three core regions – Europe, Asia-Pacific and NAFTA – Mercedes-Benz was the best-selling premium brand in the automobile industry for the second consecutive year. No other German automobile brand in the premium segment posted as strong growth as the Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star in 2017.

Dr Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Last year, Mercedes-Benz Cars delivered more than 2.4 million Mercedes-Benz and smart to customers all over the world. We thus surpassed our prior-year unit sales for the seventh time in succession. With Mercedes-Benz, our core brand, we were the best-selling premium brand once again in 2017. We can be proud of that achievement – and we will build on it. Success in our core business provides the basis for us to actively shape the mobility of the future. In 2018, we will systematically continue along this path with CASE.”

Mercedes-Benz defines the four future topics for the automotive industry with its corporate strategy CASE: Connected, Autonomous, Shared & Services and Electric. The optimal combination of these four areas will be a crucial success factor for offering customers the most convincing overall package. The smart vision EQ fortwo show car is the first car to demonstrate how all pillars of the CASE-strategy can be linked up, and presents an intelligent solution for urban mobility and future car sharing: It is electric, fully connected and autonomous, and does not have a steering wheel or pedals. Investments in these four future fields are enabled by the success in the strong core business. Safety, quality, modern design and future-oriented innovations are the key factors that make Mercedes-Benz more successful today than ever before.

Mercedes-Benz completed its strongest-selling year with the best fourth quarter in its history (572,044 units, +4.8%). A new record was achieved also in December (193,534 units, +1.7%). In 2017, Mercedes-Benz was the premium brand with the most new registrations in many markets, and was the market leader in markets including Germany, Great Britain, France, Turkey, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, Denmark, Czech Republic, Finland, Greece, South Korea, Japan, Austalia, Taiwan, India, the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil.

“The 58th consecutive record month to close the year underscores our customers’ trust in the first-class products from Mercedes-Benz. In 2017, we delivered approximately 2.3 million new vehicles with the three-pointed star, allowing us to further extend our lead in the premium segment by a significant margin,” states Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “Also in the new year, we will have the right car available for every customer. Overall, we will launch more than a dozen new models in 2018.”