Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported its highest August on record with sales of 20,980 new vehicles, an increase of 1.8 percent over August 2006. This brings MBUSA's year-to-date sales to 157,806 units, ahead of last year's 157,128.
With significant increases in both the M-Class (up 32.4 percent) and the GL-Class (up 38.1 percent), August sales of Mercedes-Benz SUVs as a group (M-, GL-, R-, and G-Classes) increased 13.4 percent.
Other highlights for the month include a jump in Mercedes' high-end models (S-, SL-, and CL-Classes) which as a group rose 3.4 percent. In particular, sales of the CL-Class high- end luxury coupe jumped 551.9 percent (352 vs. 54 units), while the high-end luxury S-Class sedan increased by 1.6 percent from 2,427 units to 2,467 units. Sales of CLK coupes and cabriolets rose 29.3 percent (1,372 vs. 1,061 units).
Year-to-date, the C-Class, the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand, grew 11.2 percent (36,184 vs. 32,533 units). The all-new 2008 C-Class, which began arriving at Mercedes-Benz dealerships in August, consists of C300 Sport and Luxury models and the C350 sport sedan. The C-Class starts at $31,975 (including destination charges). 4MATIC all-wheel-drive will be available on the C300 this month.
Highlights for the first eight months of the year also included a 12.5 percent increase in Mercedes-Benz SUVs as a group (46,586 vs. 41,394 units), due to impressive jumps for the GL-Class (77.3 percent), the G-Class (58.5 percent), and the M-Class (10.1 percent). The flagship CL-Class coupes also showed impressive gains with an increase of 450.6 percent (2,395 vs. 435 units).
Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned program, MBUSA marked a four percent increase for August sales with 4,388 vehicles sold, bringing year-to-date sales to 34,863 units, an increase of 10.7 percent over the same period in 2006.