WORLDWIDE SALES JUNE - MERCEDES/SMART - the combined brand grows by a huge margin in the first half & June.

• Mercedes-Benz sales up by 13.7 percent to 1,144,274 units in first half of year
• Strongest half-year unit sales in the history of Mercedes-Benz
• Biggest contributions to growth from China (+34.5%) and South Korea (+47.3%)
• Continued success with best-ever sales of E-Class (+68.4%) and SUVs (+13.4%)

In the first six months of 2017, Mercedes-Benz was more successful than ever before in a half-year. 209,309 cars were delivered to customers in June (+11.1%) and 1,144,274 in the first six months of the year (+13.7%). 

The Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star thus set new sales records, significantly surpassing its prior-year unit sales both in June and in the first six months of the year. In addition, the second quarter was the best-ever quarter with 583,649 vehicles delivered worldwide (+11.6%). 

In terms of new cars registered, Mercedes-Benz was the strongest premium brand in the domestic market Germany, as well as in the markets Italy, France, Belgium, Portugal, Austria, South Korea, Japan, Australia, Taiwan, the USA, Canada and Brazil in June.

“We have posted the strongest half-year in the history of Mercedes-Benz with sales of significantly more than a million cars,” stated Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Marketing & Sales. “Not only the popularity of our E-Class family contributed to this success; demand for our SUVs is also as high as ever in all regions.”

Mercedes-Benz unit sales by region and market

In Europe, Mercedes-Benz increased its sales to a new high: In the first half of the year, 484,120 vehicles were handed over to customers, which is 8.9% more than in the prior-year period. 

Of that total, 151,790 vehicles were sold in Germany (+6.3%). The Stuttgart-based company with the star set new records for the first half of a year in the high-volume markets of Great Britain, France, Spain, Belgium and Switzerland.

The region with the strongest growth in unit sales since the beginning of the year was Asia-Pacific. Thanks to an increase of 26.7%, 438,710 Mercedes-Benz cars were handed over to customers, more than ever before in a half-year. 292,679 of those automobiles with the star went to customers in China – an increase of 34.5%. 

This is significantly higher than the previous record number of cars sold in China in the prior-year period and to a large extent reflects the strong sales of locally produced vehicles. Mercedes-Benz achieved further first-half sales records in the markets South Korea (+47.3%), Australia (+8.5%), Taiwan (+10.9%) and India (+8.7%).

Mercedes-Benz posted the strongest first half-year in unit sales in its history also in the NAFTA region: 193,399 vehicles were sold in the USA, Canada and Mexico, which is 2.1% more than in the prior-year period. June sales of 34,894 units in that region were also at a new record level (+5.0%). 

Of that number, 28,994 automobiles were delivered to customers in the USA (+1.8%), more than ever before in a June.

Mercedes-Benz unit sales by model

More than 210,000 units of the C-Class Saloon and Estate were sold in the first six months of the year, making the C-Class the bestseller in the Mercedes-Benz portfolio once again. 

The biggest sales market was China, where double-digit growth and a new sales record were achieved thanks to ongoing strong demand for the long version of the C-Class Saloon.

Demand for the world’s most intelligent business saloon and estate continues at a high level: In the first half of the year, sales of these two E-Class models increased to 181,940 units (+68.4%). 

As of now, it is also possible to order the new E-Class Cabriolet, which strengthens this successful Mercedes-Benz model series. With the Saloon, Estate, Cabriolet, Coupé and All-Terrain, Mercedes-Benz offers with the E-Class the broadest model range amongst the premium manufacturers in the upper range.

From January to June, the Stuttgart-based company with the three-pointed star delivered 385,044 SUVs to its customers, which is an increase of 13.4%. 

From the GLA to the G-Class, these vehicles are extremely popular all over the world. Mercedes-Benz set new records not only worldwide, but also in each of its core regions Europe, Asia-Pacific and NAFTA. The bestseller among the SUVs was the GLC, followed by the GLA.

smart

smart sold approximately 70,000 cars to its customers worldwide in the first half of the year. The urban microcar was especially popular in China and Great Britain, where more cars were sold than ever before in the first half of a year. 

The new smart electric drive will stimulate additional sales; deliveries of the new electric smart fortwo and forfour started in Europe last month.

Overview of sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars

	June 2017	Change in %	Jan. – June 2017	Change in %
Mercedes-Benz	209,309	+11.1	1,144,274	+13.7
smart	12,565	-4.4	69,874	-4.9
Mercedes-Benz Cars	221,874	+10.1	1,214,148	+12.4
Mercedes-Benz unit sales in the region/market
Europe	90,391	+4.3	484,120	+8.9
- thereof Germany	29,206	+1.4	151,790	+6.3
Asia-Pacific	78,712	+23.5	438,710	+26.7
- thereof China	50,090	+28.3	292,679	+34.5
NAFTA	34,894	+5.0	193,399	+2.1
- thereof USA	28,994	+1.8	161,960	-0.5

Volvo cars continues to grow throughout the world, and with new models this wil continue.

Volvo Cars, the premium car maker, remains firmly on course for another record year in retail sales after posting an 8.2 per cent increase for the first six months of the year. Total sales in the first half of 2017 amounted to 277,641 cars, compared with 256,563 cars a year earlier.

Global retail sales in June came in at 54,351 cars, an increase of 5.7 per cent compared with the same month last year.

Strong demand for the new 90 series cars continues to be an important factor in Volvo's positive sales performance, while the first-generation XC60 remains the best-selling model overall.

The United Kingdom recorded sales of 5,018 in June, up 4.0 per cent over the same month in 2016. Sales for the first half of 2017 amounted to 24,519 cars, an increase of 8.4 per cent versus the same period last year. The XC60 is the best-selling model in the UK so far this year, followed by the V40, XC90 and the V90.

Jon Wakefield, Managing Director of Volvo Car UK, said: "These fantastic figures are a result of all the hard work from everyone at Volvo Car UK and our dealer network, and show that we're well on track for another record-breaking year of sales and growth for Volvo in the UK."

The Asia Pacific region reported sales growth of 27.3 per cent in June to 13,769 cars. Sales in China, Volvo's largest market, increased by a very healthy 30.9 per cent to 10,113 cars.

For the first six months, growth in the Asia Pacific region amounted to 22.6 per cent, while China was up 27.6 per cent for the period. The result was supported by strong demand for the locally produced XC60, S60L and S90 models.

First-half sales in the EMEA region were up by 6.6 per cent to 164,128 cars sold, as the region continued to see strong demand for the new V90 and XC90, as well as the XC60. Strong-performing markets include Sweden, the United Kingdom, France and Germany. June sales in the region were up 3.9 per cent.

The Americas region reported sales of 41,277 cars for the first six months of 2017, of which 34,102 were in the United States. The most popular model in the region is the XC60, followed closely by the XC90.

Retail sales status (deliveries to end customers) for Volvo Car Group is as follows:

		June			January - June
		2016	2017	Change	2016	2017	Change
Region EMEA		30,482	31,678	3.9%	153,953	164,128	6.6%
	United Kingdom Sweden	4,824 7,228	5,018 7,246	4.0% 0.2%	22,629 36,455	24,519 38,724	8.4% 6.2%
Region Asia-Pacific		10,816	13,769	27.3%	57,568	70,584	22.6%
	China	7,727	10,113	30.9%	40,688	51,914	27.6%
Region Americas		9,876	8,651	-12.4%	43,412	41,277	-4.9%
	USA	8,588	7,303	-15.0%	36,654	34,102	-7.0%
Other		257	253	-1.6%	1,630	1,652	1.3%
TOTAL		51,431	54,351	5.7%	256,563	277,641	8.2%

Globally, the Volvo XC60 was the best-selling model in June, with 16,905 cars sold (2016: 15,536), followed by the Volvo V40/V40 Cross Country, with 9,434 cars sold (10,142). The XC90 was third, with 7,972 sold cars (8,280)

WORLDWIDE SALES JUNE - VW Group - Sales take an upward swing to nearly a million in the month.

• 920,700 Group vehicles delivered in June – a rise of 4.2 per cent
• Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales: "June was very strong month for the Group and all brands improved deliveries."
• Deliveries in the first half of the year up by 0.8 per cent

Up to the end of June, the Volkswagen Group handed almost 5.2 million vehicles over to its customers. This corresponds to a rise of 0.8 per cent compared with the previous year. In the month of June, new vehicle deliveries rose by 4.2 per cent to 920,700. 

"June was a very strong month for the Group and all brands improved deliveries compared with the previous year," said Fred Kappler, Head of Group Sales of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft. 

"Stable growth in core regions gives us reason to look forward with confidence to the second half of the year," Kappler added.

In Europe, deliveries by the Group continued to grow. In June, 411,700 (+3.1 per cent) vehicles were handed over to customers. Growth of 3.5 per cent in deliveries was recorded in the first half of the year. 

Strong impetus for growth continues to come especially from Central and Eastern Europe, where deliveries in June were 13.2 per cent higher than in the previous year, at 67,000 new vehicles. This growth was driven by Russia (+14.8 per cent), the Czech Republic and Poland. 

While deliveries in the West European core markets also rose (+1.4 per cent), there was a fall of 2.3 per cent in the home market Germany in June, although this was less than the fall in the passenger car market as a whole.

In the North American region, the Group recorded significant growth (+9.1 per cent) in June, with 83,900 new vehicles handed over to customers. Especially Canada and the USA (+9.8 per cent) provided the main impetus for this development. Since the beginning of the year, 461,400 Group vehicles have been handed over to customers in North America, corresponding to a rise of 3.9 per cent. The upward trend in the South America region continues. In the first half, double digit growth of 11.4 per cent was achieved, with 248,300 Group models. Of these vehicles, 43,700 (+21.7 per cent) were delivered in June; growth in deliveries was also recorded as a result of the positive development in Brazil (+12.4 per cent).

The Asia-Pacific region reported almost 2 million vehicles handed over in the first half of the year (-2.7 per cent). These included 347,000 units (+4.1 per cent) delivered in June. In China, 315,300 vehicles were handed over to customers in June, corresponding to a rise of 5.2 per cent compared with the previous year. However, the figures for the first half were impaired by the weak first quarter. In the first six months of the year, the Group handed more than 1.8 million vehicles (-1.9 per cent) over to customers in China.

Overview of deliveries by the Volkswagen Group:

Deliveries to customers by markets				June 2017				June 2016				Change (%)				Jan.- June 2017				Jan.- June 2016				Change (%)
Europe				411,700				399,200				+3.1				2,271,800				2,195,500				+3.5
Western Europe				344,700				340,000				+1.4				1,905,800				1,871,400				+1.8
Germany				124,400				127,400				-2.3				678,600				685,100				-1.0
Central and Eastern Europe				67,000				59,100				+13.2				366,000				324,100				+12.9
Russia				16,700				14,500				+14.8				85,800				78,300				+9.5
North America				83,900				76,900				+9.1				461,400				444,100				+3.9
USA				51,600				47,000				+9.8				293,400				273,800				+7.2
South America				43,700				35,900				+21.7				248,300				223,000				+11.4
Brazil				25,700				22,900				+12.4				142,300				141,700				+0.4
Asia-Pacific				347,000				333,400				+4.1				1,986,200				2,041,900				-2.7
China				315,300				299,800				+5.2				1,826,000				1,862,100				-1.9
Worldwide				920,700				883,300				+4.2				5,155,600				5,115,900				+0.8

Deliveries to customers by brands				June 2017				June 2016				Change (%)				Jan.- June 2017				Jan.- June 2016				Change (%)
Volkswagen Passenger Cars				512,700				492,800				+4.0				2,935,100				2,924,900				+0.3
Audi				170,600				169,000				+1.0				909,000				953,300				-4.7
ŠKODA				105,200				98,800				+6.5				585,000				569,400				+2.8
SEAT				45,200				40,100				+12.6				246,500				216,800				+13.7
Porsche				22,500				20,300				+10.8				126,500				118,000				+7.2
Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles				45,000				43,700				+3.1				249,800				237,900				+5.0
MAN				9,800				9,100				+7.2				52,700				49,300				+6.9
Scania				8,300				8,100				+1.7				43,600				40,300				+8.2
Volkswagen Group (total)				920,700				883,300				+4.2				5,155,600				5,115,900				+0.8