Mercedes-Benz Canada reports continued growth year-to-date through strong May sales results

TORONTO, June 1, 2012 /CNW/ - Mercedes-Benz Canada and its national dealer network reported today that the company has retailed a total of 3,405 Mercedes-Benz and smart units throughout the month. May's sales figures helped push overall growth this year to 9.0% or 1,213 units, with 14,687 vehicles delivered so far in 2012.

Mercedes-Benz passenger car and luxury light truck sales recorded 2,875 units sold. This helped propel year-over-year growth to 10.2% or 1,194 units, with a grand total of 12,909 Mercedes-Benz vehicles delivered year-to-date.

Passenger car sales amounted to 1,703 units in May, which was fueled by impressive C-Class, E-Class, SLK-Class, SL-Class and CLS-Class sales. With 75 units delivered, the SLK-Class posted impressive sales gains for the month. In addition, demand for the next generation 2013 SL-Class proved exceptionally strong with 71 vehicles retailed.

On the luxury light truck side, a total of 1,172 units were delivered. This is ahead 3.7% for the month, and brought overall growth to 34.7% for the year. The continued sales increases can be attributed to solid performances across the entire vehicle range and particularly buoyant M-Class and GL-Class sales, which were ahead 49.8% and 19.5% respectively.

The diesel take rate for luxury light trucks was 77.3% for the month, while permanent all-wheel drive 4MATIC™ units accounted for 85.5% of overall passenger car and light truck sales in May (excluding smart).

smart reported a total of 323 vehicles sold in May, which is ahead 20.5% for the month.

A total of 207 Mercedes-Benz Sprinters were delivered throughout the month. With 1,062 units delivered this year, Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sales are ahead 11.9% or 113 units in 2012.

The Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned division reported 1,406 units sold, which was the best May ever for Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned sales in Canada. This represents an increase of 11.4% for the month, and pushed overall growth to 24.2% or 1,157 vehicles with 5,941 Pre-Owned units delivered year-to-date.

"I am pleased with the overall results in May as we continued to see strong demand and impressive sales across our entire model range. In fact, on a year-to-date basis, we are ahead of last year's record-breaking results by an impressive margin," said Tim A. Reuss, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada. "We gathered in Halifax with our dealers from across Canada this month for our annual meeting, and I continue to be impressed and inspired by their level of engagement. We share a genuine excitement regarding our stellar product range and the potential that exists for the future, and I look forward to seeing what we can collectively achieve with this exceptional team of professionals."

About Mercedes-Benz Canada

Mercedes-Benz Canada is responsible for the sales, marketing and service of the four brands within the Mercedes-Benz Group in Canada: Mercedes-Benz, smart, AMG, and Maybach.  Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc. employs approximately 1,300 people in 19 locations across Canada.  Through a nationwide network of 13 Mercedes-Benz owned retail operations and 40 authorized dealerships, Mercedes-Benz Canada sold 32,914 vehicles in 2011, the best year ever reported for Mercedes-Benz Canada Inc.

JoAnne Caza  416-847-7550 [email protected]

Michael Minielly 416-847-7509 [email protected]

Further information from Mercedes-Benz is available on the internet at: www.media.mercedes-benz.ca