Mercedes-Benz USA June New Vehicle Sales Up 6.7 Percent

MONTVALE, N.J., July 1 -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported sales of 17,246 new vehicles in June, an increase of 6.7 percent over June 2002. June sales helped propel the company to a year-to-date record of 105,901 units, a 2.9 percent increase over last year's 102,927.

Sales for the month were led by the C-Class with 5,769 vehicles sold, an increase of 4.6 percent over the 5,516 sold during June 2002. Other volume leaders for the month were the E-Class with sales of 4,230 and the M-Class with sales of 2,411. The company's flagship S-Class model line increased 20.4 percent to 1,621. The company also recorded its highest month on record for sales of all-wheel-drive 4MATIC models.

On a year-to-date basis, C-, E- and M-Class model lines achieved the highest volumes. E-Class sales showed the strongest gain with an increase of 56.8 percent on a year-to-date basis.

High-performance AMG vehicles continued a record of strong performance with sales of 1,054 vehicles for the month and boosting year to date sales by 45.4 percent to 5,434. MBUSA broadened its AMG performance base with the recent launch of the E55 AMG, the fastest production sedan ever built by Mercedes-Benz.

June also marked the retail launch of the Maybach brand in the U.S. MBUSA sold 13 of the ultra-exclusive, super-luxury Maybach sedans.

Separately, MBUSA's Starmark certified pre-owned vehicle program set another record for June with sales of 4,584 units, bringing the year-to-date total to 25,514, an increase of 17.4 percent over last year.

  Model    June '03   June '02   Monthly %   YTD 2003   YTD 2002   Yearly %

  C-Class     5,769      5,516       4.6 %     33,576     32,857       2.2%

  E-Class     4,230      1,886      124.3%     25,977     16,563      56.8%

  S-Class     1,621      1,346       20.4%     10,902      9,988       9.2%

  CL-Class      276        333      -17.1%      1,961      2,022      -3.0%

  SL-Class      973      1,082      -10.1%      5,732      7,416     -22.7%

  CLK-Class   1,170      1,307      -10.5%      9,752      8,862      10.0%

  SLK-Class     617        791      -22.0%      3,173      4,481     -29.2%

  M-Class     2,411      3,608      -33.2%     13,921     19,098     -27.1%

  G-Class       166        290        n/a         894      1,640       n/a

  Mercedes-Benz
   Vehicles
   Subtotal  17,233     16,159        6.6%    105,888    102,927       2.9%

  MAYBACH        13        n/a        n/a          13        n/a       n/a

  MBUSA GRAND
   TOTAL     17,246     16,159        6.7%    105,901    102,927       2.9%