Mercedes-Benz Canada reports continued strong sales momentum with the best April in the company's history

TORONTO, May 1, 2012 /CNW/ - Mercedes-Benz Canada and its national dealer network reported today that the company has delivered a grand total of 3,429 Mercedes-Benz and smart units throughout the month. This represents an increase of 13.6% and the best April on record for the group, and pushes overall sales growth to 13.7% or 1,362 vehicles on a year-to-date basis.

Mercedes-Benz passenger car and luxury light truck sales also reported a record-breaking month and the best April ever with a grand total of 3,029 units sold. These impressive sales figures are ahead of last April's results by 19.7%, and helped propel year-to-date growth to 15.8% or 1,371 units with 10,034 Mercedes-Benz vehicles sold.

Passenger car sales totaled 1,814 vehicles in April, which was ahead 8.2% for the month and fueled by impressive C-Class, E-Class, SLK-Class and CLS-Class sales. With 928 units sold, C-Class Sedan sales were up a notable 34.1% compared to April 2011. In addition, demand for the stylish C-Class Coupe continued to surge throughout the month.

On the luxury light truck side, a total of 1,215 units were delivered. This represents an increase of 361 vehicles or 42.3% compared to April 2011, and can be attributed to solid performances across the entire vehicle range and particularly strong M-Class and GL-Class sales. Overall, luxury light truck sales are up 45.7% year-to-date.

The diesel take rate for luxury light trucks was 78.8% for the month, while permanent all-wheel drive 4MATIC™ units accounted for 86.1% of overall passenger car and light truck sales in April (excluding smart).

smart reported a total of 154 vehicles sold in April.  An additional 100 car2go edition smart fortwos were added to the very successful car2go carsharing network this month in Vancouver. A total of 325 car2go cars are now available to customers that are part of this ground-breaking mobility program.

A total of 246 Mercedes-Benz Sprinters were delivered throughout the month, which represents an increase of 7.4% for the month. Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sales are ahead 19.6% on a year-to date basis.

The Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned division reported 1,272 sold units, which is the best April ever for Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned sales in Canada. This represents an increase of 14.4% for the month, and boosts overall growth to 28.8% or 1,013 vehicles with 4,535 Pre-Owned units delivered so far in 2012.

"We entered the second quarter of this record-breaking year very well-positioned with our strongest product line-up ever, highly competitive offers from our partners at Mercedes-Benz Financial Services, and the continued unwavering support of our dealer network. The results of this remarkable combination certainly speak for themselves," said Tim A. Reuss, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada. "I am sincerely grateful to be surrounded by such a hard-working team of professionals on the wholesale and corporate retail side, and also to be supported by such an extraordinary group of dealers across the country. With several new products earmarked to launch later this year, including the all-new SL-Class roadster which will arrive in dealerships later this month, we are collectively thrilled to continue to provide our valued customers a broad array of some of the finest automobiles in the industry."

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