Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) today reported April sales of 18, 228 vehicles, an increase of 25.1%, beginning the second quarter with a 25.5% increase on a year-to-date basis.

Continued strong demand in both the Mercedes passenger car and light-truck categories fueled the sales volume for the month. In the sedan category, the popular C-Class – the gateway to the Mercedes-Benz brand for younger as well as first-time Mercedes-Benz buyers – maintained its lead as the volume leader with sales of 4,624. The 9th generation E-Class continued to exhibit strong momentum with sales of 4,528 (up 152.3%) and the versatile M-Class SUV followed suit with sales of 2,269.

On a year-to-date basis, the company sold 68,794 new vehicles, an increase of 25.5% over last year.

Separately, through the Mercedes-Benz Certified Pre-Owned (MBCPO) program, MBUSA sold 7,755 vehicles in April; a 14.1 % increase compared to April 2009 sales of 6,797 vehicles. Year-to-date sales for the MBCPO program were 27,934 – a 7.6 % increase over 2009 year-to-date sales (25,959 vehicles) during the same timeframe.