Mercedes-Benz Sees Strong Demand as High-End and Electrified Vehicle Sales Surge

• Mercedes-Benz Cars and Vans delivered over 2.4 million units in 2021, despite semiconductor supply chain bottlenecks
• Mercedes-Benz Cars Q4 deliveries at 475,968 (-24.7%) in line with company forecast
• New sales records for xEVs and high-end vehicles (Maybach, AMG, G-Class) underline strategic development of sales mix
• Mercedes-Benz commercial vans sales rise 2.6%
• Compliance with European CO2 fleet average targets for 2021 expected

Demand for Mercedes-Benz vehicles remains unbroken as Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-AMG, and G-Class vehicles achieved new sales records in 2021, underscoring the strength of the world’s most valuable luxury car brand.

Deliveries of Mercedes-Benz plug-in hybrid and electric passenger cars reached a record 227,458 units (+69.3%) of which 48,936 were Mercedes-EQ battery electric passenger cars (BEV) (+154.8%). Including smart and Mercedes-Benz Vans, total BEV sales rose above 99,000 units. Since the EQS went on sale in August 2021, orders for the electric flagship reached 16,370. The retail launch in the two largest markets – the United States and China – started in December, providing a further boost to customer orders.

Overall Mercedes-Benz Cars delivered 2,093,476 vehicles (-5.0%) between January and December, as a lack of semiconductors delayed the supply of vehicles despite strong demand for passenger cars and vans in all segments and across all regions. As a result, sales in the fourth quarter decreased by -24.7%.

Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG responsible for Marketing and Sales: ”In a challenging year, Maybach, AMG and G-Class vehicles posted new records. Order intake for the EQS, the longest-range EV on the market today, is very encouraging and production of the first all-electric AMG kicked off in December, starting a new chapter for our electric flagship. This strong global demand for all our brands gives Mercedes-Benz the tailwinds to accelerate into a new electric era.”

Mercedes-Benz is making every effort to ensure that surging customer orders can be fulfilled as soon as possible. The date when a customer placed an order is taken into consideration when scarce chips are allocated for vehicle production. The semiconductor supply situation remains volatile and the shortage is expected to impact the upcoming quarters in terms of production and sales.

Deliveries of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class rose by 40% to 87,064 units, with sales in China accounting for 35.5% of the global demand while sales of the G-Class surged to a new record of 41,174 vehicles and deliveries of Mercedes-AMG models reached 145,979 (+16.7%). Mercedes-Maybach sales increased to 15,730 units (+50.7%), boosted by China where Mercedes-Maybach cars are selling at a rate of more than 900 a month.

Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales by regions and markets

Sales of Mercedes-Benz in the Asia-Pacific region fell to 1,009,763 (-1.6%) between January and December reaching 758,863 units (-2%) in China. In Europe, sales reached 696,136 (-11.2%) of which Germany accounted for 213,105 units (-25.5%) while sales in the North America region totaled 318,456 units (+0.3%) with 276,102 passenger cars delivered to customers in the USA (+0.4%).

Based on internal calculations, Mercedes-Benz is on track to meet its European new car fleet average emissions targets (including European Union, Norway, and Iceland) for the year 2021. For the year 2022 a further decrease in emissions is expected, as sales of plug-in and battery electric vehicles continue to accelerate.

Mercedes-Benz Vans: Sales of Commercial Vans increased in 2021

Sales of commercial vans rose 2.6% in 2021 to 334,210 units, thanks to strong demand in the first half of 2021 and from China and the United States in particular, where sales rose 11.3% and 4.8% respectively. In Europe, Spain emerged as a strong market with deliveries up 23.2% last year.  In the US, where especially Sprinter was again one of the business drivers, 53,472 units (Sprinter and Metris) were sold.

In the 4th quarter, semiconductor supply bottlenecks caused high customer demand to be met only with a delay. Deliveries of commercial vans fell 12.9% compared to the strong prior-year quarter, which was characterized by corona-related catch-up effects. Globally 90,532 Sprinter, Vito, and Citan were delivered, with sales down in Europe as well as in the USA and Canada. In China though, sales rose 10.1% compared with the prior-year quarter.

More than 9,000 electric vans were sold for commercial use last year, doubling the number compared to 2020 and further growing the share of electric vehicles in the commercial van fleet. The eVito panel van, launched in December, will convince further customers to drive electrically in 2022 with an additional battery variant and the standard fast charging function.

Klaus Rehkugler, Head of Marketing and Sales at Mercedes-Benz Vans: “In 2021 we were able to achieve a remarkable result for Mercedes-Benz Vans despite the impact from several pandemic-induced challenges. Customer demand remains consistently high and our order intake for commercial and private all-electric vans is ever increasing.  In addition, in Europe, the all-new Citan was launched as a panel van and tourer in the 4th quarter and was voted ‘International Van of the Year 2022’ immediately after its market launch.”

Source: Daimler