A record breaking October has seen Mercedes-Benz Australia fulfil more than 2000 wholesale orders from dealers with an unprecedented 1798 vehicles being retailed and registered.

Horst von Sanden, Managing Director of Mercedes Car Group said “despite stock shortages in some segments the customer demand for our products continues to outstrip supply. For the third month in a row the all new C-Class has broken all our internal records for the segment and has clearly become the first choice for discerning compact luxury sedan buyers”

The delivery of 819 new C-Class sedans to buyers is the highest ever figure for C-Class since its introduction in 1989. Of these 104 were the C220CDI which almost outsold its predecessors 12 month total in its first full month on sale. Since launch the C220CDI has sold 250 units.

Horst von Sanden, Managing Director of Mercedes Car Group said “The new C-Class has excited our customers and our dealers. The very strong sales since launch has depleted the level of stock we have on hand, in particular diesel. With the launch of the C320CDI we have for the first time made a diesel our range topper and the initial response has been very strong. Once the C-Class estate and C63 AMG arrive next year we believe that we will have the most complete C-Class range ever and the biggest issue we face is that supply is proving extremely difficult with such huge worldwide demand for the new C-Class”

The continuing strong uptake of diesel passenger cars in our range has seen us sell almost 1,000 of the B, C and E-Class diesels year to date. We have said that we want Mercedes-Benz to be the brand of choice of luxury car buyers; we are well on our way to achieving that. It is notable that despite a less than ideal diesel fuel delivery experiences by some service stations our diesel sales continue to rise exponentially. In the Small >$40K segment where image, equipment, luxury and safety rule the B-Class diesel accounts for one third of our volume von Sanden said.

In the Large >$70K segment the E-Class platform commands one in three buyers with a very strong performance again by diesel.”

The first choice in Uber luxury sedans the S-Class continues to lead the segment with 37 % of its segment year to date. The S-Class range outsells the combined total of its closest price and specification competitors combined clearly making it the resolute brand of choice in the segment. Included in S-Class sales in October were two S65L AMG’s and one S63 AMG Models. With the availability of the S320CDi in January 2008 we expect the commanding lead of the S-Class to increase von Sanden said.

The 7 seat GL-Class in October had one of its best months to celebrate its first birthday downunder with more than 650 sold since its introduction. Horst von Sanden, managing Director of Mercedes Car Group said “this is an outstanding result for our gentle giant since its local launch and it has far exceeded our launch projection of 400 annual sales and clearly shows that it has become the first choice of premium large SUV buyers who demand space, safety, off road prowess, value and dynamic ability, in this size of vehicle”