For the fourth consecutive year: Mercedes is No.1

[[MC]Ronin[MC]]

For the fourth consecutive year: Mercedes is No.1

This is the ninth consecutive year in which Mercedes announces record sales.

 

 

 

Mercedes-Benz has managed to defend its world No.1 luxury brand title, outpacing BMW and Audi for the fourth consecutive year. The victory was made clear on Friday when BMW announced it had sold 2.17 million vehicles in 2019, up 2%. The day before, Mercedes had reported a 1.3% increase in deliveries to 2.34 million vehicles. Thus, the company reported its ninth consecutive record year in sales. Audi ranks third in this battle with 1.85 million and an increase of 1.8%.

These statistics show that the market is much more resilient and favorable to luxury brands than the masses, whose sales have been very strong in some markets since the slow economic growth and the trade war.

The consolation for BMW is the fact that as a Group (BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce) it sold 2 520 307 cars against 2 339 562 from Daimler (Mercedes-Benz and smart). BMW also performs better than Mercedes in the US, though the Stuttgart-based company has delivered a record number of cars in the United States. The same is true for Germany and China, with growth being driven by an insatiable thirst for crossovers and luxury sedans.

China continues to be a key market, with Mercedes growing at 6.2%. The brand reports that over 700 Mercedes-Maybach S-Class were ordered there monthly. However, the future does not look bright in this market as the threat of higher tariffs from the US, China and Europe trade war is growing.

Mercedes achieved a record-breaking last quarter of the year for the excellent result, during which the company managed to cross the line of 600,000 (614,319 units, 3.2% growth) in passenger car deliveries. The company is a leader in the luxury car market in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, Poland, Portugal, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Canada and South Africa.

In the new year, BMW aims at a slight increase in the Group's sales as well as "solid sales growth" in China. In Europe, sales are expected to remain at 2019 levels due to a "deteriorating economic environment" and in the US should increase slightly.

All three bosses of Mercedes, BMW and Audi are confident that they will continue to increase sales this year, with all three companies relying on their aggressive renewal policy for their model family.

For its part, Audi is also not giving up on the battle, intending to reduce the gap with the first two. One means is seeing the company add 10 plug-in hybrids and 20 electric vehicles to its range by 2025, outpacing the other two competitors. The company also intends to increase its profit margin to up to 10% of the current 7 to 8.5%.