MONTVALE, N.J. – Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported October sales of 18,193 vehicles, its     highest month of the year and a 21.3% improvement over October 2008.
 “Clearly we’re very pleased with this month’s result and we believe that we will be able to parlay this into a strong fourth quarter and continued increases in our market share,” said Ernst Lieb, President & CEO of MBUSA.  “This is validation of the ‘back to basics’ approach we have undertaken in partnership with our retail network, utilizing the current economic environment to strengthen the customer experience and promote the value inherent in our product line.”  Lieb said the sales gains for the month were also influenced by a more stabile economic environment relative to last year and to the momentum of the company’s new products — the compact SUV GLK-Class and the new 9th generation E-Class — as well as volume leaders like its C- and M-Class model lines.
The GLK-Class, introduced in January 2009, has outsold every vehicle in its class on a year-to-date basis.  The all-new, 9th generation E-Class, launched in late June, recorded sales of 6,071 for October 2009, up 189.4% over October 2008.  The other volume leaders for the month were the C-Class and M-Class with sales of 4,122, and 2,370 respectively.
On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 153,606 new vehicles, trailing the comparable period last year by 20.1%.
Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 5,433 vehicles in October; a 13 percent increase compared to October 2008 sales of 4,807 vehicles.  Year-to-date sales for the MBCPO program are 62,161, a 17.8 percent increase over 2008 year-to-date sales (52,753 vehicles).