Benz sales went up despite luxury cars sales’ downhill trend
Luxury cars may not be the favorite automobile choice of many Malaysians as these automobiles shrank 28 percent in sales, but the DaimlerChrsyler-produced Mercedes Benz still managed to sell more units that it did last year.
Over 1,700 Mercedes Benz units was sold in this non-lucrative market of Malaysia during the first six months or 14 percent more compared with the 2006 first half sales. Out of the total number of vehicles sold, the Mercedes Benz C-class line was hailed as the most improved with over 550 units. These C-class vehicle sales statistic was only during the first half of this year and had remarkably exceeded the 2006’s record. On the other hand, the upgraded Mercedes Benz E-class took the driver’s seat as it has the highest sales among the Benz models with over 650 units. Sales of the flagship S-Class more than doubled from last year with over 200 units sold, the B-Class, a compact sports tourer, saw sales close to 200 units, and almost 100 units of the A-Class were sold in the first six months of this year.
“In this less than lucrative marketing scenario, we are pleased to have met or exceeded our target for the first half of this year and by bringing in new variants of products, we are confident to be able to continuously raise the sales performance in the local automotive premium segment,” said DaimlerChrysler Malaysia Sdn Bhd president and CEO, Peter Honegg.
DaimlerChrysler’s commercial vehicle arm, Mitsubishi FUSO, also reported better sales for the first half of 2007.