Mercedes-Benz wants to boost its U.S. sales by 20 percent with four new compacts
By Andrew, 17 Jan, 2012. 0 Comments
2012 Mercedes-Benz C350 Coupe
Mercedes-Benz is launching four new compacts starting next year, with hopes of raising its sales in the U.S. by over 20% compared to last year. At the Detroit Auto Show, Mercedes global sales boss Joachim Schmidt said that in the mid-term, the Mercedes brand’s sales in the U.S. will reach 300,000 units, particularly due to its new compact-car family. Schmidt didn’t say what year Mercedes seeks to reach its target of 300,000 units. But he anticipates that the U.S. rollout of the compact family of Mercedes will take two to three years.
It will begin in 2013 and will consist of new generations of the A class and B class and a compact SUV and coupe. Schmidt said that an electric vehicle with a range-extending fuel-powered engine will be the only B-class variant to be offered in the U.S. Presently, the C class is the smallest model Mercedes that is available in the U.S. The U.S. sales target of Schmidt is the same as rival BMW’s target. In an interview with Automotive News Europe last month, Ludwig Willisch, the U.S. sales boss of BMW, said that his midterm goal is to increase BMW brand sales to 300,000 units.
In 2011, BMW sold 247,907 units while Mercedes sold 245,192 units, which gives BMW the title of best-selling premium brand in the U.S. for the first time, ending Lexus’ reign for 11 years on the top of the U.S. luxury segment. Production was stopped for part of last year due to the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. With U.S. sales declining by 13% to 198,552 units, Lexus was ranked third. Mercedes was No. 1 in 1999 in terms of U.S. sales but Lexus grabbed the crown the following year. This sales figure from BMW doesn’t include the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands while Mercedes’ results are excluding the Sprinter commercial vehicle. [source: Autonews]
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