Demand for battery electric and Top-End segment vehicles lifted sales of Mercedes-Benz Cars by 6%, to 515,700 units in the second quarter, and by 5% to 1,019,200 units in the first half of 2023. Sales were boosted by solid demand in Germany and the United States in particular.
Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars battery electric vehicle sales rose to 56,300 units in Q2, a 123% increase compared with the prior-year quarter, underscoring the priority of scaling EV’s. This increase was mainly driven by the demand for the EQA (+73%) and EQB (+83%) and the EQE Sedan (+157%). In the first six months of 2023, Mercedes-Benz Passenger Cars sold 102,600 BEV’s worldwide (+121%). Fully electric vehicles now account for 11% of overall sales year-to-date. Including plug-in hybrids Mercedes-Benz sold 187,600 electrified vehicles (+36%), corresponding to a global xEV-share of 18% at the end of June.
The U.S. market continued its transformation towards electric cars with a rise in the share of Mercedes-Benz battery electric vehicles to 16% at the end of June, compared to 3% in the first half of last year. Mercedes-Benz announced last week that customers in North America will gain access to the Tesla Supercharger network, another step towards accelerating the shift to electric vehicles.
Top-End
Sales in the Top-End segment rose by 12% to 84,800 units in Q2 and 15% to 176,600 vehicles in the first six months of 2023. Mercedes-AMG increased global sales by 19% to 38,000 units in the second quarter, supported by a strong SUV segment and launches of the AMG derivatives of the C-Class and SL. Demand for the iconic G-Class remains high and sales increased by 29% to 11,000 units in the second quarter. In April 2023, the 500,000th model of the legendary Mercedes‑Benz G-Class rolled off the production line in Graz. Mercedes-Maybach lifted global sales by 39% to 6,500 vehicles in Q2 and was able to further expand its customer base, especially in the U.S. market. The brand will further upgrade its series models with an optional Night Series package.
The Mercedes-Benz EQS SUV has been introduced in all key regions, with 10,900 units sold in the first half of 2023.
Core
Sales in the Core segment were up 2% to 276,600 units in the second quarter. Sales of the E-Class increased by 11% in Q2 to 73,000 units and reached 146,300 units (+2%) in the first six months. Sales of the EQE Sedan more than doubled to 9,000 units (+157%) and sales of its SUV sibling, the EQE SUV reached 10,000 units in Q2. In the second half of the year, the global ramp up of the new GLC, E-Class and CLE models will continue.
Entry
Sales in the Entry segment increased by 11% to 154,100 units in Q2 and even grew 19% in the first half of 2023, reaching 317,500 vehicles. The recently upgraded CLA saw sales rise 31% to 21,700 units in Q2. First-half sales of compact SUVs GLA and GLB reached 65,100 units (+19%) and 74,700 units (+23%) respectively. Together with its electric versions EQA (+69%) and EQB (+125%), the compact SUVs accounted for more than half of sales in this segment in the January to June period. Mercedes-Benz Passenger Car BEV-share rose to 15% in this segment in the first half of 2023 compared to 9% a year-earlier.
Mercedes-Benz Vans Sales
In the second quarter of 2023, Mercedes-Benz Vans sold 119,500 vans with the three-pointed star worldwide and increased sales by 19% in Q2 – and by 16% in the first half of the year. With this, the division has achieved its best second quarter ever, as well as its best half-year ever.
Mercedes-Benz Vans continues to cater to the needs of both private and commercial customers. The segment of the premium positioned commercial vans made a particularly strong contribution from April to June, with an increase of 23% to 101,600 units. The privately positioned vans saw a sales figure of 18,000 units, an increase of 4%. The share of electric vans rose by 18% to 5,100 vehicles. This once again underscores the division’s claim of leading in electric mobility.
