Mercedes-Benz USA today reported April sales of 22,336 for its Mercedes-Benz models, a 23.
8 % improvement over April 2011, delivering a year-to-date total of 83,849 new vehicles to customers, up 17.5%. Combined sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles, smart and Sprinter for the month totaled 25,066, up 30.8% bringing a year-to-date total of 91,972, up 22.4 %, making this the company's highest April on record. Sales for the month of April were led by the C-, E-, and M-Class model lines. The sporty C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand on the car side for younger and first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – took the lead with sales of 6,424 and the 9th generation E-Class followed with sales of 5,328. MBUSA's top-selling SUV, the M-Class, rounded out the top three with sales of 3,057, up 53.6% compared to April 2011. Other strong performers were the company's popular new CLS four-door coupe which saw a 522.1% growth and the all-new SLK roadster which increased 215.5% over April 2011. The SLS AMG supercar retailed 104 for the month, up 92.6% over the same period last year.
On a year-to-date basis, top performers again were the C-Class with 24,531 (up 20.1%) the E-Class with 19,201 and the M-Class with 14,537 (up 58.2%).
Monthly sales of the high-performance AMG models were 529, up 55.1% versus April 2011 (341) and up 60.6% year to date. Additionally, despite fluctuating gas prices, diesel sales increased to 2,300 up 142.4% over the same period last year (949) and up 85.8% for the year.
The company's smart brand continued six consecutive months of sales increases with April sales of 764 vehicles, a 63% jump for the month (compared to the 467 vehicles sold in April 2011) and brings the year-to-date volume to 3,028, up 74.6%.
On the van side, sales of Sprinter Vans also saw strong momentum in April with sales of 1,966 – up 76.3% over last year and up 35.4% on a year-to-date basis.
Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 6,368 vehicles in April; a -10.2% decrease when compared to April 2011 (sales of 7,091 vehicles). On a year-to-date basis, MBCPO sold 26,292 vehicles, a decrease of -1.3% over the comparable period (with sales of 26,629).