Electrified vehicles boost first half Benz sales

Increased sales of plug-in hybrid (PHEV) and battery electric vehicles (BEV) were reflected in a 25% increase in Mercedes-Benz Car deliveries (1,182,724) around the globe for the first half of 2021.

In spite of the semiconductor shortage, sales of Mercedes-Benz PHEVs and BEVs more than quadrupled in six months, reaching 121,500 units (+305.0%). 

The electrified vehicles made up 10.3% of total Mercedes-Benz Cars sales in the first half of 2021. 

Around 39,000 BEVs were delivered from January to June (+291.4%), including more than 19,000 units (+469.4%) of the EQA, EQC and EQV models.

But the manufacturer says the semiconductor component shortage is expected to impact sales in the upcoming two quarters of 2021. 

Mercedes-Benz says it set two new records in China: The highest deliveries in a second quarter (219,059 units, +5.8%) and in a first half of a year (441,579 units, +27.6%). 

Double-digit Q2 sales growth was achieved in Germany (+26.3%) and the USA (+38.6%). 

Car sales by regions and markets

Sales of Mercedes-Benz in the Asia-Pacific region rose from January to June 26.1%. Deliveries of Mercedes-Benz in China remained on a record level, with a total of 441,579 units in H1 (+27.6%). 

In the Europe region, the recovery of many markets and an improved COVID-19 situation led to a sales growth of 53.7% in the second quarter. In Germany, Mercedes-Benz delivered a total of 107,269 cars from January to June, achieving a sales level slightly above last year (+1.0%). 

Sales in the North America region totalled in H1 182,305 units (+24.4%) with 160,646 passenger cars delivered to customers in the USA (+26.3%).

Around 21,500 S-Classes were delivered to customers in Q2 (+69.2%), totalling more than 36,000 units since the beginning of the year (+43.1%). The E-Class saloon & estate (+11.8%), the compact cars (+42.1%) and the SUVs (+53.2%) achieved a strong sales performance from January to June.

From January to June, the GLC SUV was again the best-selling single model of Mercedes-Benz worldwide, followed by the C- and E-Class saloon. The new C-Class, which had its start of sales on March 30, already achieved around 50,000 orders. 

In Q2 2021, commercial vans sales from Mercedes-Benz Vans grew by 37% compared to the prior-year quarter in spite of the semiconductor component shortage. 

In total, 84,190 Sprinters, Vito, Tourer and Citan were recorded sold worldwide. Growth was particularly high in Latin America. The eSprinter and eVito contributed strongly to the growth in predominantly all European markets.