This increase was thanks to markets such as the U.S. and China, as well as the introduction of numerous new products, such as the E-Klasse Cabrio and the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG.
The carmaker also recently unveiled the facelifted R-Klasse, due to be launched in the U.S. in August, in Western Europe in September, and in China, its biggest market, in October.
In China, deliveries totaled a record 24,100 units in the first quarter, which was an increase of 105 percent compared to Q1 2009, the highest recorded by any premium manufacturer in the country. Mercedes-Benz also boosted its sales in China by 57 percent in March alone, to 8,500 units.
“As expected, we concluded the first quarter successfully in terms of sales,” said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing, Mercedes-Benz Cars. “Moreover, thanks to the increasing success of the new E- and S-Class we were also able to further improve our sales mix. We will continue this positive sales trend in the coming weeks, and we anticipate another significant sales increase in the second quarter.”
The E-Klasse family had a great contribution to the carmaker’s sales results, as worldwide sales of the sedan nearly doubled to 45,700 units.
A total of 10,600 smart fortwo were delivered worldwide in March, which was a decrease of 11 percent compared to March 2009. However, sales are expected to rebound once the new generation of the smart fortwo is introduced in the third quarter of 2010.
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