2009 Mercedes Benz monthly U.S. sales
02-03-2009, 01:15 PM
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2008 C300 Iridium Silver. 2009 Black R350
2009 Mercedes Benz monthly U.S. sales
Associated Press
Daimler posts 35.5 pct drop in January US salesAssociated Press, 02.03.09, 12:45 PM EST
German automaker Daimler AG said its sales in the U.S. fell 35.5 percent in January, as higher volumes of its Smart fortwo minicar failed to offset a steep decline in sales of its Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles.
U.S. sales fell to 12,209 from 18,916 last year, weighted by across-the-board declines in volumes of its Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles.
Yahoo! BuzzOverall sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in the U.S. fell 42.9 percent to 10,433 from 18,275. The Mercedes R-Class wagon posted a 75.9 percent decline in sales, while sales of the top-selling C-Class sedan fell 34.8 percent.
Sales at Daimler's Smart USA, however, segment nearly tripled to 1,776 from 641 last January, as the tiny, fuel-sipping fortwo gained a foothold in the U.S. The two-seater first went on sale in the U.S. in mid-January 2008
Daimler posts 35.5 pct drop in January US salesAssociated Press, 02.03.09, 12:45 PM EST
German automaker Daimler AG said its sales in the U.S. fell 35.5 percent in January, as higher volumes of its Smart fortwo minicar failed to offset a steep decline in sales of its Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicles.
U.S. sales fell to 12,209 from 18,916 last year, weighted by across-the-board declines in volumes of its Mercedes-Benz brand vehicles.
Yahoo! BuzzOverall sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in the U.S. fell 42.9 percent to 10,433 from 18,275. The Mercedes R-Class wagon posted a 75.9 percent decline in sales, while sales of the top-selling C-Class sedan fell 34.8 percent.
Sales at Daimler's Smart USA, however, segment nearly tripled to 1,776 from 641 last January, as the tiny, fuel-sipping fortwo gained a foothold in the U.S. The two-seater first went on sale in the U.S. in mid-January 2008
02-03-2009, 02:09 PM
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2008 C300 Iridium Silver. 2009 Black R350
MB must do a big promo fast to save the R series like $15,000 cash back on the 09models. Perfect buyers market.
02-05-2009, 11:10 PM
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2008 R350 & 2008 C300
Don't think Benz is all that concerned with 09 R class sales. They are gearing up for the 2010 refresh, after that then they will get concerned. Lol sales haven't been great since the first year of production and they haven't panicked.
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03-03-2009, 12:34 PM
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Auto Sprawl
Peter T. Leach | Mar 2, 2009 12:00AM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Magazine - News Story
Ports seek additional parking space for overflowing auto imports as consumers stall purchases
If you want to see what economists mean by “inventory overhang,” take a look at the parking lots around any of the major auto ports. They are jammed with thousands of new car imports that have no place to go. The dealers can’t take them.
So many imported autos are piling up around major U.S. ports of entry that foreign automakers are leasing additional acreage to store them until they can be delivered to dealerships, when ownership shifts to the dealers. Some dealers can’t take delivery because they can’t get credit to finance their inventories.
“We’re experiencing a lot longer dwell times with our auto imports,” said Jim White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. He said 57,000 imported cars were parked at public and private terminals around the Port of Baltimore in mid-February, 10,000 more than normal.
“The higher-end luxury cars that used to move out very quickly in about four to seven days now take two or three weeks.”
The overflowing terminals are a stark sign of the beleaguered state of the automobile industry, and they are a headache for everyone from car dealers to auto carriers and supply chain specialists at major auto companies. Car lots will remain crowded, as there’s little hope sales will pick up in the first half of 2009.
As U.S. port terminals fill up, overseas car manufacturers are cutting back production, and shipping lines are idling vessels. NYK may double the number of car carriers it retires as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor slash production.
The Japanese ocean carrier may scrap and park as many as 20 car carriers, on top of the 20 it is already planning to scrap by March 2010, Mikitoshi Kai, head of investor relations at NYK, told Bloomberg in Tokyo last week.
“Every day we are asking auto manufacturers about their export plans for next year, but we have not yet received any figure,” Kai said.
NYK, the world’s largest car carrier, predicts Japan’s car exports will slump by more than 33 percent in the first quarter as the worst U.S. car market in 28 years forces Japanese manufacturers to reduce output. The country’s auto exports tumbled 34 percent in December, their biggest drop since recording began in 1972.
Tighter lending and rising unemployment in the United States, the world’s biggest auto market, led to a 37 percent decline in vehicle sales last month.
The backlog at auto gateways began to build up late last summer, and cars piled up through the fall as consumers shut their wallets. Cars kept coming into the auto ports because there was an almost three-month lag between the falloff in consumer demand and the time when foreign automakers could scale back production.
But the imported cars stopped at the ports. Automobile-related shipments for large U.S. railroads fell 21.5 percent in 2008 and then dropped nearly 60 percent in the first six weeks of this year.
Things are even worse in Europe. White said one of the ro-ro carriers that serves Baltimore told him between 90,000 and 100,000 vehicles have accumulated at Bremerhaven, Europe largest auto port — imports dealers aren’t picking up and exports that European producers won’t ship.
The space situation has gotten so bad that Toyota is leasing a car carrier from Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics to store about 2,500 cars in the southern Swedish port of Malmo, according to John Felitto, the Swedish-Norwegian car carrier’s executive vice president for the Americas.
Although the car carrier’s volumes are down, Felitto said the downturn has created some opportunities. “We are calling at previously underserved markets that we didn’t have capacity to serve before,” he said. “For example, we are now calling at Port of Tacoma, and we have increased our sailings to Australia.”
In Baltimore, the MPA moved inventories of Hyundai cars to airport parking lots to make room for cars still on the high seas. The port agency bought about 15 acres of land across from the Dundalk Terminal for overflow space for cars about six weeks ago, but has not yet had to use it. “That’s because the Korean manufacturers, who had never shut their plants down, have cut back production by 30 percent,” the MPA’s White said.
The situation is much the same in Long Beach, where Toyota and Mercedes Benz land their West Coast imports. “There is still a lot of cars out there — thousands — but there’s only a trickle of cars coming in,” said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach. He said Toyota, which has about 150 acres of storage space at the port, has acquired another 15 to 20 acres to park its unclaimed cars. Mercedes Benz, too, acquired an additional 20 to 30 acres for its imports.
Toyota, which used to import 5,000 cars a week on two vessel calls, has cut back to one call. Mercedes, which used to import 2,000 cars a week on two ships per month, has also slowed imports. Both carmakers have cut back production in their native auto plants, but Toyota plans to ramp up production in Japan to around 200,000 vehicles in May, an increase of roughly 30 percent from the output of the three preceding months. That’s still about 40 percent lower than a year earlier, and a full-scale recovery in production is not expected any time soon.
IHS Global Insight expects U.S. auto sales in the next couple of months to look like January’s slow pace, when sales ran at a 9.5 million unit annual rate, before sales eventually start to pick up. It expects the auto market to build some slow momentum toward the end of the year.
“We’re looking for 10.4 million in new car sales this year, compared with 13.2 million last year,” said George Magliano, the firm’s automobile economist. It is forecasting sales of 12.5 million units in 2010. “It’s an improvement, but it isn’t a hell of a lot,” he said.
Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, also thinks sales will turn up in the second half of the year. He said cars being scrapped soon will outnumber new car sales by a million a year, which means buyers will have to replace them at some point.
Cars and trucks produced in Detroit are still selling in the Midwest and the mid-South. But Taylor thinks sales of imports, which usually sell best on both coasts, where home prices have been hardest hit, may not pick up as quickly.
“What you typically have is a 50-day supply of Asian car imports and a 56-supply of European imports,” Taylor said. Currently, the inventory overhang of Asian auto imports represents a 99-day supply, while the accumulation of European imports amounts to a 115-day supply.
It’s far worse for the Big Three Detroit automakers. Their inventory overhang, normally a 60-day supply, has built up to 146 days supply, Taylor said.
Peter T. Leach | Mar 2, 2009 12:00AM GMT
The Journal of Commerce Magazine - News Story
Ports seek additional parking space for overflowing auto imports as consumers stall purchases
If you want to see what economists mean by “inventory overhang,” take a look at the parking lots around any of the major auto ports. They are jammed with thousands of new car imports that have no place to go. The dealers can’t take them.
So many imported autos are piling up around major U.S. ports of entry that foreign automakers are leasing additional acreage to store them until they can be delivered to dealerships, when ownership shifts to the dealers. Some dealers can’t take delivery because they can’t get credit to finance their inventories.
“We’re experiencing a lot longer dwell times with our auto imports,” said Jim White, executive director of the Maryland Port Administration. He said 57,000 imported cars were parked at public and private terminals around the Port of Baltimore in mid-February, 10,000 more than normal.
“The higher-end luxury cars that used to move out very quickly in about four to seven days now take two or three weeks.”
The overflowing terminals are a stark sign of the beleaguered state of the automobile industry, and they are a headache for everyone from car dealers to auto carriers and supply chain specialists at major auto companies. Car lots will remain crowded, as there’s little hope sales will pick up in the first half of 2009.
As U.S. port terminals fill up, overseas car manufacturers are cutting back production, and shipping lines are idling vessels. NYK may double the number of car carriers it retires as Toyota Motor, Honda Motor and Nissan Motor slash production.
The Japanese ocean carrier may scrap and park as many as 20 car carriers, on top of the 20 it is already planning to scrap by March 2010, Mikitoshi Kai, head of investor relations at NYK, told Bloomberg in Tokyo last week.
“Every day we are asking auto manufacturers about their export plans for next year, but we have not yet received any figure,” Kai said.
NYK, the world’s largest car carrier, predicts Japan’s car exports will slump by more than 33 percent in the first quarter as the worst U.S. car market in 28 years forces Japanese manufacturers to reduce output. The country’s auto exports tumbled 34 percent in December, their biggest drop since recording began in 1972.
Tighter lending and rising unemployment in the United States, the world’s biggest auto market, led to a 37 percent decline in vehicle sales last month.
The backlog at auto gateways began to build up late last summer, and cars piled up through the fall as consumers shut their wallets. Cars kept coming into the auto ports because there was an almost three-month lag between the falloff in consumer demand and the time when foreign automakers could scale back production.
But the imported cars stopped at the ports. Automobile-related shipments for large U.S. railroads fell 21.5 percent in 2008 and then dropped nearly 60 percent in the first six weeks of this year.
Things are even worse in Europe. White said one of the ro-ro carriers that serves Baltimore told him between 90,000 and 100,000 vehicles have accumulated at Bremerhaven, Europe largest auto port — imports dealers aren’t picking up and exports that European producers won’t ship.
The space situation has gotten so bad that Toyota is leasing a car carrier from Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics to store about 2,500 cars in the southern Swedish port of Malmo, according to John Felitto, the Swedish-Norwegian car carrier’s executive vice president for the Americas.
Although the car carrier’s volumes are down, Felitto said the downturn has created some opportunities. “We are calling at previously underserved markets that we didn’t have capacity to serve before,” he said. “For example, we are now calling at Port of Tacoma, and we have increased our sailings to Australia.”
In Baltimore, the MPA moved inventories of Hyundai cars to airport parking lots to make room for cars still on the high seas. The port agency bought about 15 acres of land across from the Dundalk Terminal for overflow space for cars about six weeks ago, but has not yet had to use it. “That’s because the Korean manufacturers, who had never shut their plants down, have cut back production by 30 percent,” the MPA’s White said.
The situation is much the same in Long Beach, where Toyota and Mercedes Benz land their West Coast imports. “There is still a lot of cars out there — thousands — but there’s only a trickle of cars coming in,” said Art Wong, a spokesman for the Port of Long Beach. He said Toyota, which has about 150 acres of storage space at the port, has acquired another 15 to 20 acres to park its unclaimed cars. Mercedes Benz, too, acquired an additional 20 to 30 acres for its imports.
Toyota, which used to import 5,000 cars a week on two vessel calls, has cut back to one call. Mercedes, which used to import 2,000 cars a week on two ships per month, has also slowed imports. Both carmakers have cut back production in their native auto plants, but Toyota plans to ramp up production in Japan to around 200,000 vehicles in May, an increase of roughly 30 percent from the output of the three preceding months. That’s still about 40 percent lower than a year earlier, and a full-scale recovery in production is not expected any time soon.
IHS Global Insight expects U.S. auto sales in the next couple of months to look like January’s slow pace, when sales ran at a 9.5 million unit annual rate, before sales eventually start to pick up. It expects the auto market to build some slow momentum toward the end of the year.
“We’re looking for 10.4 million in new car sales this year, compared with 13.2 million last year,” said George Magliano, the firm’s automobile economist. It is forecasting sales of 12.5 million units in 2010. “It’s an improvement, but it isn’t a hell of a lot,” he said.
Paul Taylor, chief economist for the National Automobile Dealers Association, also thinks sales will turn up in the second half of the year. He said cars being scrapped soon will outnumber new car sales by a million a year, which means buyers will have to replace them at some point.
Cars and trucks produced in Detroit are still selling in the Midwest and the mid-South. But Taylor thinks sales of imports, which usually sell best on both coasts, where home prices have been hardest hit, may not pick up as quickly.
“What you typically have is a 50-day supply of Asian car imports and a 56-supply of European imports,” Taylor said. Currently, the inventory overhang of Asian auto imports represents a 99-day supply, while the accumulation of European imports amounts to a 115-day supply.
It’s far worse for the Big Three Detroit automakers. Their inventory overhang, normally a 60-day supply, has built up to 146 days supply, Taylor said.
04-02-2009, 09:29 AM
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2008 C300 Iridium Silver. 2009 Black R350
Wednesday, April 1, 2009, 2:33pm CDT
Sales down for local Mercedes modelsBirmingham Business Journal - by Aneesa McMillan Staff
Sales for three Mercedes Benz models manufactured at the Vance plant fell approximately 50 percent in March, following a trend that began late 2008.
According to data from Mercedes, sales figures for all three vehicles the German automaker manufacturers in Alabama have decreased for two consecutive months.
Only 1,675 M-Class crossover sport utility vehicles were sold in March, down 47.5 percent from March 2008.
Year-to-date sales for the M-Class are down 53.9 percent from the 9,507 sold through the first three months of 2008.
Sales for the R-Class fell 59.4 percent to 355. The automaker sold 874 of the vehicles in March 2008.
For the year, sales of the R-Class are down more than 67 percent.
Sales of the GL Class, dropped to 1,118 in March 2009 – a 41.4 percent decrease from the 1,908 sold in March 2008.
For the year, the GL-class sales slipped 47.1 percent to 3,008 to 5,681.
Sales down for local Mercedes modelsBirmingham Business Journal - by Aneesa McMillan Staff
Sales for three Mercedes Benz models manufactured at the Vance plant fell approximately 50 percent in March, following a trend that began late 2008.
According to data from Mercedes, sales figures for all three vehicles the German automaker manufacturers in Alabama have decreased for two consecutive months.
Only 1,675 M-Class crossover sport utility vehicles were sold in March, down 47.5 percent from March 2008.
Year-to-date sales for the M-Class are down 53.9 percent from the 9,507 sold through the first three months of 2008.
Sales for the R-Class fell 59.4 percent to 355. The automaker sold 874 of the vehicles in March 2008.
For the year, sales of the R-Class are down more than 67 percent.
Sales of the GL Class, dropped to 1,118 in March 2009 – a 41.4 percent decrease from the 1,908 sold in March 2008.
For the year, the GL-class sales slipped 47.1 percent to 3,008 to 5,681.
06-02-2009, 02:39 PM
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2008 C300 Iridium Silver. 2009 Black R350
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Sales -- May 2009
Model May '09 May '08 Monthly % YTD 2009 YTD 2008 Yearly %
C-CLASS 4,842 7,394 -34.5% 21,146 31,385 -32.6%
E-CLASS 2,275 4,029 -43.5% 9,920 15,803 -37.2%
S-CLASS 895 1,684 -46.9% 4,286 8,255 -48.1%
CL-CLASS 82 250 -67.2% 604 1,323 -54.3%
SL-CLASS 359 1,083 -66.9% 1,764 2,734 -35.5%
CLK-CLASS 863 1,033 -16.5% 4,664 5,567 -16.2%
SLK-CLASS 322 444 -27.5% 1,404 2,493 -43.7%
CLS-CLASS 202 499 -59.5% 1,447 3,177 -54.5%
R-CLASS 218 666 -67.3% 1,312 4,208 -68.8%
M-CLASS 2,021 2,706 -25.3% 8,242 14,795 -44.3%
G-CLASS 69 79 -12.7% 260 426 -39.0%
GL-CLASS 1,227 1,918 -36.0% 5,440 9,537 -43.0%
GLK-CLASS 1,759 - 9,444 -
GRAND TOTAL 15,134 21,785 -30.5% 69,933 99,703 -29.9%
Sales -- May 2009
Model May '09 May '08 Monthly % YTD 2009 YTD 2008 Yearly %
C-CLASS 4,842 7,394 -34.5% 21,146 31,385 -32.6%
E-CLASS 2,275 4,029 -43.5% 9,920 15,803 -37.2%
S-CLASS 895 1,684 -46.9% 4,286 8,255 -48.1%
CL-CLASS 82 250 -67.2% 604 1,323 -54.3%
SL-CLASS 359 1,083 -66.9% 1,764 2,734 -35.5%
CLK-CLASS 863 1,033 -16.5% 4,664 5,567 -16.2%
SLK-CLASS 322 444 -27.5% 1,404 2,493 -43.7%
CLS-CLASS 202 499 -59.5% 1,447 3,177 -54.5%
R-CLASS 218 666 -67.3% 1,312 4,208 -68.8%
M-CLASS 2,021 2,706 -25.3% 8,242 14,795 -44.3%
G-CLASS 69 79 -12.7% 260 426 -39.0%
GL-CLASS 1,227 1,918 -36.0% 5,440 9,537 -43.0%
GLK-CLASS 1,759 - 9,444 -
GRAND TOTAL 15,134 21,785 -30.5% 69,933 99,703 -29.9%
06-02-2009, 11:36 PM
#12
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The rest are built in Germany or SA and usually only the engine/transmission are the same as the USA models. Engine/transmission for all are built in Germany.
06-04-2009, 01:15 PM
#13
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I know I will sound like a bottom feeder for saying this, but why hasn't MBUSA issued trunk money for the R like they did in 2008? With these figures, you would think they would be issuing rebates and college tuition for your kids!
Most dealers are giving invoice pricing ($3k off), some even at cost ($5 to 6k off MSRP). The best deals I found were $7k off a P2 car and $9k off a P1 car. But these guys are sucking up a loss. Most others will just leave them sit without incentives from the factory.
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Sales -- May 2009
Model May '09 May '08 Monthly % YTD 2009 YTD 2008 Yearly %
R-CLASS 218 666 -67.3% 1,312 4,208 -68.8%
The math shows YTD in 2009, there were about 60 Rs sold per week. Looking at it from a 48 state market perspective, that's 1.25 cars per week in each state! I guess MB is cash heavy right now.
Most dealers are giving invoice pricing ($3k off), some even at cost ($5 to 6k off MSRP). The best deals I found were $7k off a P2 car and $9k off a P1 car. But these guys are sucking up a loss. Most others will just leave them sit without incentives from the factory.
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Sales -- May 2009
Model May '09 May '08 Monthly % YTD 2009 YTD 2008 Yearly %
R-CLASS 218 666 -67.3% 1,312 4,208 -68.8%
The math shows YTD in 2009, there were about 60 Rs sold per week. Looking at it from a 48 state market perspective, that's 1.25 cars per week in each state! I guess MB is cash heavy right now.
06-04-2009, 04:54 PM
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2008 C300 Iridium Silver. 2009 Black R350
I asked the same question myself. According to one of the salesman MBUSA has dramatically cut production of the 2009 Rs. therefore there are not that many 09 R's sitting in the lot as opposed to last summer of 08. I guess MB will become more aggressive in dealing the 09's when the 2010 model arrives in the dealerships.
06-04-2009, 05:49 PM
#15
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571 listings for new 09 Rs on autotrader.com. I am sure this is not a comprehensive list of all dealers in the US. But gives you an idea.
So is that a small number?
Comparably, there are 6489 listings for C Class - MBs smallest and cheapest car, I would expect least affected by the economy and fuel prices (Sales off 32%) There are 3635 lsitings for ML and 1563 for GL both off about 43%.
So maybe there will be rebates for MLs before Rs (off 69%)?
So is that a small number?
Comparably, there are 6489 listings for C Class - MBs smallest and cheapest car, I would expect least affected by the economy and fuel prices (Sales off 32%) There are 3635 lsitings for ML and 1563 for GL both off about 43%.
So maybe there will be rebates for MLs before Rs (off 69%)?
06-04-2009, 11:20 PM
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2008 R350 & 2008 C300
Revisiting the post now sheds a different light on this subject. Yes the sales are down at the moment, but sales for all brands are down across the board. The thing to look at is the market direction, and with BMW, Toyota, and now Honda with not one but two R class look a likes in the works for this fall, it would appear the R class could find some new legs. The 2010 refreshed R class will be coming into showrooms just about the same time the offerings from Honda/Acura hit. This could make for some new publicity and for some good deals on left over 09 units. Seems like the idea of a minivan/suv/station wagon has finally caught on.
Last edited by chilledbenz; 06-05-2009 at 04:31 PM.
06-05-2009, 07:56 PM
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I have heard it is popular overseas in the Far East. When I call around the country looking for an R, many sales people want to know if I am going to ship it overseas. They tell me it was a real issue last couple of years, but not as bad now. They get dinged if a new car gets shipped out of the country. BTW - I have stumbled across a few never titled 08 Rs in dealer inventory believe it or not.
06-06-2009, 10:24 AM
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I have heard it is popular overseas in the Far East. When I call around the country looking for an R, many sales people want to know if I am going to ship it overseas. They tell me it was a real issue last couple of years, but not as bad now. They get dinged if a new car gets shipped out of the country. BTW - I have stumbled across a few never titled 08 Rs in dealer inventory believe it or not.
Starting at $42,675.00
http://www.fjmercedes.com/ClassesDetails.aspx?cid=10
I bot my first MB C300 from FJ Fremont. they do volume so deals are sweeter. unfortunately FJ Fremont didnt carry Rs at all.
06-06-2009, 05:38 PM
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I know I will sound like a bottom feeder for saying this, but why hasn't MBUSA issued trunk money for the R like they did in 2008? With these figures, you would think they would be issuing rebates and college tuition for your kids!
Most dealers are giving invoice pricing ($3k off), some even at cost ($5 to 6k off MSRP). The best deals I found were $7k off a P2 car and $9k off a P1 car. But these guys are sucking up a loss. Most others will just leave them sit without incentives from the factory.
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Sales -- May 2009
Model May '09 May '08 Monthly % YTD 2009 YTD 2008 Yearly %
R-CLASS 218 666 -67.3% 1,312 4,208 -68.8%
The math shows YTD in 2009, there were about 60 Rs sold per week. Looking at it from a 48 state market perspective, that's 1.25 cars per week in each state! I guess MB is cash heavy right now.
Most dealers are giving invoice pricing ($3k off), some even at cost ($5 to 6k off MSRP). The best deals I found were $7k off a P2 car and $9k off a P1 car. But these guys are sucking up a loss. Most others will just leave them sit without incentives from the factory.
MERCEDES-BENZ USA
Sales -- May 2009
Model May '09 May '08 Monthly % YTD 2009 YTD 2008 Yearly %
R-CLASS 218 666 -67.3% 1,312 4,208 -68.8%
The math shows YTD in 2009, there were about 60 Rs sold per week. Looking at it from a 48 state market perspective, that's 1.25 cars per week in each state! I guess MB is cash heavy right now.
ParkPlace Mercedes in Dallas just sold an '09 R to my neighbor for $44k. It was base and only had the Pano and ipod plus something else, but still $44k from a sticker of $56k? There are deals to be had and their good. But you have to negotiate, and not roll-over.
A lot of dealers are even selling new stock on flea bay now. Times are tough, but it's a great time to buy if you can. I'm still holding out for a good deal on a R63, but if I can't I think I might just have get the new E or pick up one of the steals that S550's are going for right now.
