Mercedes-Benz: We Sold Less than last Year but More than Rivals

Since any sale is better than no sale at all, Mercedes Benz USA has one reason more to be proud of. Although February sales dropped by 23.5 percent in the United States when compared to last year, the German luxury car maker is boasting about how these results defeated the competition.

That being said, Mercedes Benz and smart managed to sell no less than 15,614 units in the U.S. in February 2009. While 14,199 Mercedes vehicles found a new owner last month, it seems that the demand for smart cars increased among the Americans, with 1,415 units sold.

The surprise of the month was undoubtedly the all-new 2010 GLK350, a compact SUV, that conquered the hearts of 1,918 Americans. These results place the SUV behind the C-Klasse (with 3,990 sold) and E-Klasse ( with 2,104 sold).

As for other Mercedes-Benz vehicles which scored good results we can note SL-Class and the CLK-Class. Sales for the SL-Class increased by 26.6 percent for the month with sales of 462 new vehicles (compared to 365 vehicles in February 2008). The CLK-Class was preferred by 1,134 Americans which means a 15.4 percent increase over the same period last year (983 new vehicles).

Another pleasant surprise for Mercedes-Benz USA was the increase in the demand for smart vehicles. smart scored a 28.5 percent increase when compared to February 2008 and a 83.2 percent increase year to date. The results show that more and more drivers are ready to opt for micro cars such as the smart fortwo in an effort to avoid traffic congestion and reduce environmental pollution due to daily driving.

In addition, Mercedes-Benz USA sold 5,795 vehicles in February through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program. These figures show a 28.3 percent increase compared to February 2008 sales of 4,517 vehicles.