News

Mercedes-Benz Canada achieves the company's best all-time sales results
and retains the number one position in the luxury passenger car segment

Best year ever for the group in the following categories:
• Mercedes-Benz and smart combined sales of 35,503 units (up 7.9%)
• Mercedes-Benz passenger car and luxury light truck sales with 30,106 units
(up 5.3%)
• Mercedes-Benz luxury light truck sales with 13,289 units (up 16.8%)
• Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned sales with 14,310 units (up 9.4%)
• Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sales with 3,010 units (up 21.4%)
• Mercedes-Benz December sales results (up 18.5%)

TORONTO, ON - Mercedes-Benz Canada and its national dealer network reported today
that the company has exceeded numerous significant all-time sales milestones by
delivering a grand total of 35,503 Mercedes-Benz and smart units throughout 2012.
This considerable total equates to an increase of 7.9% or 2,589 units over 2011's
record-breaking sales results, and represents the best year ever in Mercedes-Benz
Canada's history.
Mercedes-Benz passenger car and luxury light truck sales totaled 30,106 units for the
year, shattering last year's impressive sales records by 5.3% or 1,522 vehicles.
Passenger car sales totaled 16,817 units for the year, which allowed Mercedes-Benz to
maintain its leadership position in the luxury passenger car segment in Canada.
Luxury light truck sales equated to 13,289 units, which is ahead a notable 16.8% for
the year.
Buoyant December sales of 200 units helped propel overall year end results for smart
to 2,387 units, which bested last year by 29.0% or 536 vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sales surpassed previous monthly sales records throughout
the year to report a total of 3,010 units delivered in 2012. This is an overall gain of
21.4% or 531 vehicles, and the best year ever for Mercedes-Benz Sprinter sales.
Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned sales showed gains right through the year. With 818
vehicles sold in December, the Mercedes-Benz Pre-Owned division ended 2012 by
recording an overall gain of 9.4% or 1,231 units with a grand total of 14,310 Pre-
Owned vehicles retailed.
In December, a total of 2,900 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars and luxury light trucks
were retailed. This represents the best December ever, and a month-over-month gain of
18.5% compared to 2011.
Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales totaled 1,689 vehicles for the month, which is
ahead 19.9%. The highly anticipated next generation B-Class was also finally welcomed
back to the Mercedes-Benz vehicle range after a 14-month hiatus and performed
exceedingly well with 325 units retailed in its first full month.
Luxury light trucks reported a total of 1,211 vehicles delivered in December. This
represents a gain of 16.6%, and was fueled by noteworthy demand across the entire
vehicle range.
The diesel take rate for luxury light trucks was 82.6% for the month, while permanent
all-wheel drive 4MATIC™ units accounted for 83.4% of overall passenger car and
luxury light truck sales in December (excluding smart).
Overall, Mercedes-Benz continued to dominate the luxury high category in Canada this
year with a 34.8% market share. In addition, Mercedes-Benz also upheld its leadership
position as the number one name plate in the large luxury SUV segment. The entire
product portfolio posted consistently strong sales results over the course of 2012, but
there were some notable standouts from the group.
The C-Class continued to be a top pick and surpassed the 10,000 unit threshold in
Canada for the first time with a total of 10,616 units sold. The CLS-Class and SL-Class
reported sales increases of 55.8% and 75.4% respectively for the year, and the
SLK-Class led its segment with sales ahead 36.5% for the year.
The GL-Class continued to lead the luxury large sport utility segment with 1,846
units retailed. In addition, the M-Class outsold its closest competitors and reported by
far its best year ever on record with 5,539 units.
AMG also posted extraordinary sales gains in Canada this year with 1,195 vehicles
delivered in 2012, which represents an increase of 45.6% over the same time period.
This was fueled by continued growth across the entire breathtaking lineup, and further
bolstered by full-year availability of the C 63 AMG Coupe and exciting new products
including the ML 63 AMG, SLK 55 AMG, SL 63 AMG and SL 65 AMG.
Mercedes-Benz Canada and the company's authorized dealers continued to invest in
the pan-Canadian retail network by celebrating six official ground breakings. For
example, a state-of-the-art retail facility will be erected on Lougheed Highway in the
greater Vancouver area that will replace the existing Mercedes-Benz Boundary facility.
In addition, new dealerships will replace current operations in London, ON and
Peterborough, ON, and the company also further expanded the dealer group through
the appointment and official start of construction of new retail locations in St-Nicolas,
QC, Gatineau, QC and Langley, BC. These new facilities and additional points
underscore a steadfast commitment to ensuring that all dealers across the country are
equipped to serve the ever-growing needs of existing and potential customers.
"It was another banner year for Mercedes-Benz, AMG, Sprinter and smart in Canada,
and we have a great deal to celebrate as we reflect on a job well-done in 2012," said
Tim A. Reuss, President and CEO of Mercedes-Benz Canada. "First and foremost, I
would like to express my profound gratitude to our entire dealer network and every
employee for their individual contributions that allowed us to achieve our collective
goals. Together, we demonstrated what is possible when a tireless work ethic and
ambition to exceed expectations are combined with truly exceptional products. We
continued to invest significantly in our retail infrastructure and refine our processes in
an effort to further improve the sales and aftersales experience for our valued
customer."  Reuss continued: "We enter 2013 with a steadfast resolve to consistently serve our
customers to the absolute best of our abilities. Our partners at Mercedes-Benz
Financial Services will also continue to offer competitive programs and innovative
options such as the First Class suite of products to further differentiate the
Mercedes-Benz ownership experience. When coupled with our most compelling
product lineup ever, and many more exciting new models still to come, we are
well-positioned to continue to ensure that the three-pointed star is unparalleled in the
automotive industry."
 

 

 Mercedes-Benz drivers enjoy better road safety

Stuttgart - The evidence is now clear: drivers of Mercedes vehicles are safer on the road than drivers of other car brands. This is the result of a study of Mercedes accident research based on official, anonymous data samples from the Federal Office of Statistics. Having looked at 18,748 accidents resulting in personal injury during the period from 2003 to 2007, the study found that the risk of being seriously or fatally injured as the driver of a E-Class, is 10.4 percent lower than for comparable vehicles of other brands.

The study did not even allow for the fact that Mercedes-Benz vehicles are involved in accidents less frequently than the vehicles of other brands - primarily because, among other reasons, Mercedes-Benz was the first manufacturer to introduce ESP® across the board. The study of accident severity only took into account accidents resulting in personal injury. The criteria were initial registration from 2002 onwards, as well as a performance and weight class corresponding to the E-Class.

The result represents clear evidence of the contribution made by the passive safety systems of Mercedes-Benz to reducing the consequences of an accident. Thanks to adaptive front airbags and belt-force limiters, which can adapt to the severity of an impact, rollover sensors, windowbags as standard and an intelligently designed body structure which provides occupants with excellent protection even in the event of severe collisions, at the time of its world premiere in 2002 the E-Class became the new benchmark for passenger car safety in the luxury class.

In the course of a facelift of the E-Class in the spring of 2006, the Mercedes engineers continued to achieve further substantial advances in the field of high-level safety, equipping the E-Class with safety systems which no other passenger car in this class was able to offer. At the time PRE-SAFE® was introduced, the interlinking of systems for accident prevention with occupant protection marked the start of a new era in this vehicle class. This Mercedes invention takes advantage of the time between detecting an accident-prone situation and possible accident damage for occupant protection. With the new E-Class, Mercedes-Benz has continued to build on the advances being made in the field of safety. Around a dozen new or enhanced driver assistance systems contribute to preventing accidents and reducing the severity of an impact. These include the ATTENTION ASSIST drowsiness detection system, as well as the optional DISTRONIC PLUS proximity control system and PRE-SAFE® Brakes with autonomous emergency braking. For the first time, PRE-SAFE® can also make use of information from the short-range radar sensors in the front bumper to tighten the front seat belts in the very last split second before an unavoidable accident, thus helping to reduce the loads suffered by the driver and front passenger in a crash.

With nine airbags as standard, four seat-belt tensioners and belt-force limiters as well as crash-responsive NECK-PRO head restraints for driver and front passenger, the new E-Class provides an even more comprehensive level of safety equipment than its predecessor. As well as the air cushions, which can be activated in milliseconds in the event of an accident, there are also two adaptive airbags for the driver and front passenger, a kneebag for the driver, two sidebags in the front seat backrests, and also two generously sized windowbags which span the area from the A to the C-pillar in the event of a side impact. For the first time, pelvisbags have also been incorporated for the front seat occupants. These can also help to reduce loads in the upper body and pelvic areas in the event of a side collision. Sidebags are also available as an optional extra for the rear passengers, while another safety innovation includes automatic adaptive belt-force limiters in the rear, now available for the first time as an option from Mercedes-Benz. These adjust automatically to the size and weight of the passengers.