Mercedes-Benz Malaysia has certainly been flying high at the beginning of the year, according to its sales performance for the first quarter of 2016 announced by the company today. Despite a challenging period in the automotive industry, MBM sold a phenomenal 2,658 units – a 41% increase over the same period last year, and the best Q1 performance in the marque’s history in the country.
This figure is 772 units higher than in the first quarter of 2015 (1,886 units) and puts Stuttgart’s year-to-date market share as of March at 2.3%, an increase of 0.5% over the previous year. Leading the charge were the bread-and-butter locally-assembled sedans, which collectively saw a 26% growth to 1,814 units.
The star of this range was the C-Class, sales of which rose a staggering 871% to 1,359 units, no doubt helped along by reduced prices announced late last year and a completely revamped range – the C 180 Avantgarde, revamped C 200 Avantgarde, C 200 Exclusive and C 300 AMG Line were all introduced in the first quarter of the year.
It’s a less rosy story higher up – the E-Class registered a 75% drop in sales to 260 units. The company has already phased out the E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid earlier in the year, and is delivering the last of the runout E 200 and E 250 Edition E models ahead of the launch of the next-generation W213 model, slated for the third quarter of this year. Sales of the S-Class also saw a 28% decline to 195 units.
Entry-level buyers have also contributed strongly to MBM’s stellar performance so far this year, with its Compact Cars range seeing a 59% increase in sales to 664 units. A nice round 300 units of the A-Class were registered in Q1 2016, 38% higher than the year before – likely buoyed by the introduction of the new facelifted range earlier in the year.
Meanwhile, sales of the CLA rose 200% to 183 units, while 159 units of the GLA found homes this year – an increase of 77% compared to the same quarter in 2015.
At the other end of the spectrum, the ultra-rarified Dream Cars range – consisting of the AMG A 45, AMG C 63 S, AMG S 63 Coupé, AMG GT S, E-Class Coupé, CLS and Maybach S-Class – saw a collective 20 units sold in the first quarter of this year. Elsewhere, Mercedes-Benz’s new SUV range – GLC, GLE and GLE Coupé – recorded sales of 170 units.
“This achievement is clearly the result of a coordinated market offensive, which includes the extremely successful launch of a new SUV line, and bringing new customers into the Mercedes-Benz brand by providing a wider variety of vehicles,” said vice president of sales and marketing Mark Raine. “We thank our dealer network and our loyal fans for their steadfast support of the Mercedes-Benz brand.
“It has been a very eventful first quarter for Mercedes-Benz Malaysia, and we are most encouraged by the results,” said president and CEO Dr Claus Weidner. “We will continue to provide the best in our offerings and customer experience through all customer touch points. We have achieved a lot, and we are not stopping here. We will keep up the momentum and remain the leading brand in the premium automotive segment.”
Sales aside, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia also revealed a total of nine new models that will be launched this year, including three all-new models, three full model updates, two new engine variants and one facelift. One of these models that was “coming soon” was teased in a slide – although the company did not explicitly say which model it would be, the image shown on the screen was clearly the new C-Class Coupé.
As for the rest of those models, we’ve already mentioned the new E-Class, while the SLC and the S-Class Cabriolet is probably on the cards as well – judging by the fact that the company took us to test these two droptops in France last week. We can also expect the arrival of the big seven-seater GLS (née GL), the GLC Coupé and the facelifted CLA – the latter two were unveiled in Geneva in March.
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thumbs up for Merc Malaysia
Mercedes is good no doubt, for value of money, Lexus is a better choice. That’s why Lexus sales growth is the highest in 2015.
Mercedes is a price droping king…sure sales is good but the luxury status is in doubt…
new BMW company cars for Sime Darby Senior Mgr, VP & Director to boost BMW Malaysia sales.
Mercedes…come a long way…in terms solid product and strong branding. I suppose while the rabbit takes a nap…the turtle..reaches the finish line.
Confidence.
Luxury car sales gone up which mean rich people become richer!
Economy is down. Sales of cheap car is down. Sales of midrange car is struggling. But sales of expensive luxury cars is at record high.
What does that tell you about Malaysia?
merc you have too many silly products i cant keep up
merc has so many models now selling below rm200k….no more a luxury brand now.
Dude besides A Class the rest of MB are above 200K
MB is changing the game in the luxury car scene in Msia. People used to think you have to be super rich to own an MB. If you see more people driving MB it doesn’t mean it cheapens the brand. They have expanded the product range and the price range that appeals to a broader range of people. In many countries MB are being used as taxis up to cars for presidents.
Whatever it is the current MB models are well equipped, look great, and priced reasonably. In fact if you compare the price of C250 here with a similarly speced model in say Australia it is not that much more expensive.
Congratulations to MB Msia.
As an Australian PR living in Melbourne, I can agree to this. By the time you spec up an Aussie-spec C250 to the same level of equipment as the Malaysian model, which includes Airbalance, AMG line package, Vision package (panoramic sunroof and ILS headlights) , COMAND package (which includes the Burmester audio and COMAND Online infotainment system), seat comfort package (seat memory), it’ll end up being almost as expensive or even pricier than the exact same car available in Malaysia.
Essentially, the C250 AMG Line in Malaysia has every option ticked except the Driving Assistance Package Plus (which is only available if you order a CBU one instead, and add the package at a cost of 2100 euros).
Australian models have the Driving Assistance Package Plus as standard, but not everything else.
Good Job, Benz!! And d C-Class coupe?? Ohh pleaseee, bring it in baby!!
You wins people’s heart almost every second in terms of design and built quality. That’s wat makes Merc looks spectacular on the road nowadays.. Btw, my fav is d AMG GT. ;)