MBUSA Posts Highest-Selling Month in 2009

The last month of 2009 proved to be the highest-selling of the year, with the American division of the German carmaker selling 20,889 vehicles States side, only 0.2 percent more than in December 2008. From the beginning of the year, Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) sold 190,604 vehicles, 15.3 percent fewer than in 2008, while smart USA sold 14,595 units in 2009.

"The strong finish to a year marked by challenges on every front, underscores the customer confidence in the Mercedes-Benz brand and the unstinting efforts we have undertaken in partnership with our retail network to provide an unparalleled ownership experience," Ernst Lieb, MBUSA CEO said in a release.

Volume leader for the German carmaker was the C-Klasse, which was sold in no less than 52,427 vehicles year-to-date, 27.7 percent down from the volumes recorded in 2008. The new E-Klasse, launched in June, added to the numbers with an 11.7 percent increase over 2008, while the M-Klasse completed the picture with a 21 percent increase in December and a total 2009 volume of 25,799 units.

smart was hit the worst by the crisis in the US, as it recorded a 6 percent drop in sales in December compared to the same month of 2008. Overall in 2009, the brand only reached 60 percent of the levels sold last year.

Related or not to the bad performances achieved by smart in 2009, Penske Automotive Group, the retailer of the German brand in the United States, announced the appointment of former Saturn CEO Jill Lajdziak as the company's new president.