It appears that Mercedes-Benz will steal the thunder from BMW’s centennial celebrations this year, as Stuttgart is poised to usurp Munich as the world’s largest premium brand, according to Reuters.
November sales figures showed that Mercedes sold 182,602 vehicles that month, an increase of 13%; this puts the total sales so far this year at 1.89 vehicles, 12% up from last year. By contrast, BMW sold just 177,740 cars this year, up 5.9% and bringing its volume for the first 11 months up 5.6% to 1.82 million units.
If this momentum is carried to the end of the year, Mercedes would regain the sales crown it lost to BMW in 2005. The latter has sat at the top for 11 consecutive years, selling 1.91 million vehicles last year. Mercedes, meanwhile, sold 1.87 million cars in 2015, meaning that it has already surpassed last year’s volume with one more month still to go.
“With double-digit growth since the beginning of the year, we surpassed last year’s total unit sales by the Mercedes-Benz brand already in November. This makes 2016 a new record year for Mercedes-Benz,” stated Mercedes-Benz marketing and sales chief Ola Källenius.
The three-pointed star had a particularly strong performance in the Asia Pacific region, with 63,918 vehicles delivered in November – a record and an increase of 14.7% over November last year. The bulk of sales went to China, with 42,310 vehicles sold, up 16.5%.
Meanwhile, perennial third placer Audi sold 154,050 cars last month, up 4.3%. So far, Ingolstadt has sold 1.71 million vehicles worldwide in 2016, an increase of 4.2% from the same period last year. Last year, the company sold 1.80 million cars in total.
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I adore the new E-Class. Far superior to the new 5-Series IMHO.
BMW always breakdown. It sells well in Malaysia cause GLC and Gomen always promote it.
Sime Darby also, doing badly in business will give FREE BMWs for all the Conferences held in Malaysia. Later, they sell the car for peanuts prices ie leong.
If you want good car, buy Merc. Holds value well. BMW never holds value well cause BMW Malaysia themselves throw prices. Within first year, for example, your 520i loses RM100k in RV
2005 is when bmw designs were headed by chris bangle…
bmws looks like nuthin else at the time,
Now mercedes is back on top, with edgier designs and models with class leading ingerior designs, fit and finish…..
the numbers speak for themselves, good designs always wins….
You wrote what you have seen.
The things that you feel are equally, if not more, important, especially the excellent aftersales service; even with the brandnew official Alphard V6, you don’t receive such good services from UMW.
UMW aftersales service is probably the best in mass market, no doubt.
So… how long UMW gonna take to replace all the airbags is there a campaign done like Honda did ?
Hi Jimmy, I don’t understand your statement. You stated that “you don’t receive such good services from UMW.” But then you went on to say, “UMW aftersales service is probably the best in mass market, no doubt.” Seems contradictory.
Merc is good.. however, current line up..got one thing .. design of c e and s almost similar.. previous lineup their design more different, giving each classes their unique looks..
Same goes to BMW & Audi. Audi? HAHAHA mehhh so dull, boring & nimaginative design start from A1-A8 just different in sizes
“; this puts the total sales so far this year at 1.89 vehicles, 12% up from last year.”
I believe it should be 1.89 “MILLION”? :)
Must be a typo.. Don’t be too straight..
not surprising at all, given that the new beemers all look like harshly designed, with weird looking angles and elements scattered everywhere. and not to mention the weird proportion.
while at the same time Merc look totally elegant and sporty. dont even go to bigger ones like E or S-class, just look at the hot little A45, put it side by side with 1 series, and it feels like worlds apart. and boy A45’s handling and performance are simply mind-boggling!
after all, the winner is germany automotive industry
I’m surprised that no one mention all 3 German brand(Audi, BMW, Merc) recorded increase in sales while M’sia recorded a decline in sales. The 3 consecutive F1 title probably helped Merc to the top.
BMW is a bit lost these days. They don’t have any supercar in their arsenal. And no the i8 is not a supercar. Their designs are not particularly special either. But not as bad as Audi who design only safe cars. The new Q7 is actually uglier than the old one. The new A4 looks exactly like the old one, so it already looks dated. Luckily for Audi, they make the best interiors around. BMW interiors are uninspiring to look at, preferring function over form (but with the i cars and new 7 and 5er, seems like they have improved on this part very well). Part of the problem isn’t just BMW, but the market. Buyers want badge, luxury and comfortable ride. Actual dynamics is no longer important as long as the car looks athletic. And BMW’s forte is making dynamic cars. Which is why the 3 and 5 Series has been softened. But they still are not as refined as the competition (though still more dynamic). Tough times there at BMW. I’m sure they can make luxurious cars with soft ride, great NVH and self driving tech. But if they did that, they would no longer be the UDM. Having said that, Porsche has somehow managed this conundrum rather well. Their cars, even up to the 911 are both comfortable and dynamic. But of course, their cars are not for the masses, with the cheapest car costing more than a 5 Series.