Mercedes-Benz Starts Second Half of 2011 with Record Sales

• Dr. Joachim Schmidt:

• "Demand for our products is higher than ever before. We expect strong sales for the second half of the year and want to continue to grow."

• "Overall, we are in an excellent position and are set to sell more than 1.35 million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and smarts in 2011, which would make it our all-time best year."

• High double-digit growth rates in many markets; continued strong growth in the U.S.; Mercedes-Benz once again strongest premium brand in Germany

• New C-Class sedan Number 1 in its segment, S-Class sedan market leader since the beginning of the year

• Sales of smart fortwo again above previous year

Mercedes-Benz started successfully into the second half of the year: last month, the brand had its best July sales ever. A total of 100,391 passenger cars were delivered to customers worldwide, representing a 2.7 percent increase compared to the high volume achieved in July 2010 (July 2010: 97,727). Since the beginning of 2011, sales have risen by 8.6 percent to 710,922 units (January-July 2010: 654,418), which is also a new record.

Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars: "Demand for our products is higher than ever before. July was another record month, which successfully followed our very good sales results in the first half of the year. We expect strong sales for the second half of the year and want to continue to grow. The greater availability of our vehicles will contribute to this development. We are working additional shifts at many of our plants, such as those for the C-Class, and will keep production running all summer." In the second half of the year, growth will especially be boosted by the models of the new C-Class generation, while the market launch of the new M-Class in the fall will speed up the pace of sales even further. Customers have been able to order the new M-Class since July 11. Dr. Schmidt: "We will start our foray into the premium compact car segment in November with the launch of the new B-Class, which we will unveil at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt in a few weeks. Overall, we are in an excellent position and are set to sell more than 1.35 million Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and smarts in 2011, which would make it our all-time best year."

Mercedes-Benz continued to grow in the U.S. last month, with sales increasing by 9.4 percent to 19,006 units (July 2010: 17,367). Since January, deliveries have risen by 7.3 percent to 129,932 vehicles (January-July 2010: 121,041).

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