9:23 am, January 13, 2025
Mercedes saw global car sales drop last year amid dwindling demand in key markets.
Figures published by the German marque last week show that Mercedes-Benz Group sold a combined 2.39m cars around the world in 2024.
The figure represented a drop of 4% on 2023 with struggles in key markets, such as China and Germany, negatively impacting the results.
Breaking down the sales by segment, Mercedes was hit by a 14% drop in sales of its ‘high-end’ models, shifting 281,500 units throughout the year.
The brand’s ‘core’ product, did perform well – rising 6% to 1.16m units – but entry level stock failed to shift, resulting in a 14% slump in sales to 534,800.
The brand failed to match 2023’s sales in multiple markets including in Europe (down 3% to 641,800 units) and Asia (down 7% to 892,100 units).
In its home market of Germany, Mercedes sold a total of 213,500 cars, representing a slide of 9% on the previous year. Meanwhile, in China, sales dropped 7% to 683,600 units.
Some rare good news did come in North America, where Mercedes saw a rise in sales of 8% to 365,400 – the vast majority of which (324,500 units) were sold in the USA, where sales rose by 9%.
However, global sales of battery-electric cars (BEVs) dropped by 23% to 185,100 vehicles, which could result in significant fines should the trend continue.
Despite the bruising results, there was some cause for optimism, with both top-end and core stock enjoying increased sales in the final quarter of the year.
The overall Q4 result of 625,800 units was also the best quarter of the year, despite being 2% on the same period in 2023.
Reacting to the figures, Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG, said: ‘In 2024, Mercedes-Benz once again demonstrated the power of our brand and the depth of our broad product offering.
‘This culminated in strong sales of our top-end and core vehicles in the fourth quarter. We continue to consistently strengthen our portfolio with the biggest product offensive in our company’s history starting this year with the all-new CLA.’
Britta Seeger, Mercedes’ board member responsible marketing and sales, added: ‘We finished the year with a strong sales quarter, especially with our Top-End vehicles and the G-Class in particular.
‘I want to explicitly thank our customers for their continued trust and loyalty in our brand and I look forward to the world premiere of our all-new CLA models with cutting-edge technology and stunning design.’
