Global Mercedes Car Group Sales up 17 Percent in March

11 April, 2006

Mercedes Car Group posts best sales month of all time in March, with sales of 138,400 units
Mercedes-Benz records growth in all triad markets in March
Record demand for S-Class sedan
Most successful first quarter for the marque's Australian division

Global sales of Mercedes Car Group vehicles rose in March 2006 by 17 percent to 138,400 units (March 2005: 118,000), making it the best sales month of all time. In the first quarter of 2006, worldwide deliveries of Mercedes Benz, Maybach, and smart brand cars rose by 12 percent to a record figure of 295,000 units (Q1 2005: 262,900). In Australia, the marque set an all time first quarter record delivering a total of 3,542 cars, up 25 per cent on the previous year.

In March, the Mercedes-Benz brand boosted customer deliveries by 21 percent to the record level of 125,400 units (March 2005: 103,400 units). Growth was particularly strong worldwide for the new B-, M-, R- and S-Class models. During the first three months of the year as a whole, Mercedes-Benz delivered 266,000 passenger cars to customers around the world, an increase of 18 percent on the figure posted during the first quarter of 2005 (226,400 vehicles).

As was the case in February, Mercedes-Benz increased sales in all triad markets in March. In the United States, sales of Mercedes cars rose by 18 percent to 21,400 units. And thanks to significantly increased sales in all major European markets, Mercedes-Benz boosted customer deliveries in Western Europe by 22 percent to 80,800 units. Growth was also very strong in the Asia/Pacific region, where sales of Mercedes-Benz cars climbed by 24 percent to 14,800 vehicles.

The February launch of the S-Class in the U.S., the car's main sales market, enabled the vehicle to further expand its leading world-market position in the luxury segment, with total deliveries rising to the record level of 24,100 sedans during the first quarter.

Mercedes-Benz is also continuing to grow rapidly in the SUV segment. Worldwide deliveries of the M Class doubled to 25,000 units during the first quarter. After its introduction in Europe in mid-February the R Class also continues to do well.

Demand also continues to remain high for the two models manufactured at the DaimlerChrysler plant in Rastatt: While about 280,000 A Class vehicles have been delivered to customers since the vehicle's market launch in fall 2004, a total of 87,000 customers have opted for the B Class since it was introduced in June 2005.

In March, sales at smart amounted to 13,000 vehicles. As a result, smart has delivered a total of 29,000 vehicles to customers from January through March.

Overview of Mercedes Car Group Sales

Mar-06 Change in % YTD 2006 Change in %

Mercedes Car Group worldwide 138,400 17.4 295,000 12.2

of which Mercedes-Benz 125,400 21.4 266,000 17.5

smart 13,000 -11.3 29,000 -20.7

Mercedes Car Group

of which Western Europe(excl. Germany) 53,100 16.4 110,700 10.3

Germany 39,800 16 75,400 5.1

United States* 21,400 17.9 51,200 17.1

Asia/Pacific 15,200 23.1 34,300 26

Australia 1,372 30 3,542 25