More than three decades after the launch of the original G-Class, Mercedes-Benz has recorded its 2 millionth SUV sale. Since the launch of the G-Class, SUVs have become an important part of the Mercedes lineup, with utility vehicles now accounting for about one-fifth of the automaker’s global sales.
Sales of Mercedes’ utility vehicles – which include the company’s G-Class, M-Class, R-Class, GL-Class and GLK-Class models – have seen tremendous growth in recent years, including in 2011. Last year Mercedes’ SUV sales increased more than 24 percent to 221,518 units, with the United States and China leading that charge.
“Our entire SUV family is extremely popular among our customers, particularly in the USA and in its second-largest market China,†said Dr. Joachim Schmidt, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing Mercedes-Benz Cars. “With the launch of our first sports utility vehicle – the G-Class – more than 30 years ago, we entered a segment in which we are now very successful with a total of five models.â€
He added: “The SUVs today are an important pillar of Mercedes-Benz’s growth and have achieved a new sales record in every month since July 2010.â€
Mercedes-Benz expects growth in the SUV segment to continue through 2012. The German automaker recently launched an all-new version of its popular M-Class SUV and will soon launch new versions of the GL-Class, G-Class and GLK-Class models.
