September 8, 2003

• Strong growth for Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in the U.S. and Asia
• Sales gains by E- and S-Class strengthen position as
  worldwide market leaders
• 12,000 smart roadsters and roadster-coupés delivered through August
  

Stuttgart/Frankfurt - The Mercedes Car Group sold 87,700 passenger cars around the world in August 2003, compared with 94,900 in the same month last year. From January through August, the Mercedes Car Group's sales figures remained relatively steady at 805,600 passenger cars (2002: 822,100), despite the current situation in the market overall.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger cars stood at 80,900 in August 2003, eight percent below last year's total. One factor to be considered is that August had one fewer working day than in 2002. Through August 2003, 725,900 customers purchased a Mercedes-Benz brand vehicle, compared with 741,300 in the same period last year. Prof. Jürgen Hubbert, Member of the Board of Management of DaimlerChrysler AG, responsible for the Mercedes Car Group: "Despite a slight decline in sales, Mercedes-Benz has strengthened its position in a generally contracting market."

In particular, the E Class (199,500 passenger cars, up 38 percent) and the S Class (72,000 passenger cars, up five percent) set new sales records through August and thus strengthened their position as global market leaders in their respective segments. The same applies to the diesel segment: In the face of intensifying competition, E Class sedans (worldwide market share through July 2003: 54 percent) and S Class sedans (worldwide market share through July 2003: 46 percent) remained the undisputed market leaders.

The new E-Class station wagon is very successful as well. In the first six months of sales, 21,700 new station wagons were delivered in Western Europe, three times more than the previous model recorded in the comparative period.

In the U.S., Mercedes-Benz's expansion course forged ahead as the brand recorded sales gains from the C Class (45,700 passenger cars, up three percent), the E-Class (34,400 vehicles, up 62 percent) and the S Class (14,000 vehicles, up eight percent). Through August 2003, sales rose to 142,200 passenger cars, topping the previous year's record figure of 136,200 passenger cars by four percent. Asia was another high-growth region for Mercedes-Benz, showing a 17-percent rise in demand to 60,200 passenger cars through August. Japan helped fuel the growth in the Asia/Pacific region by boosting sales by four percent to 25,300 cars.

In spite of the difficult overall market situation, 232,000 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars were delivered in Germany through August, compared to 256,000 in the same period last year. With a market share of 11.5 percent Mercedes-Benz remains the second-best-selling brand in Germany. In the UK, which is Mercedes-Benz's second largest European sales market, demand rose by nine percent to 58,900 passenger cars through August 2003, enabling the brand to significantly expand its market share - as it did in most markets. Italy and Spain recorded gains as well. Italy's sales rose by one percent compared with last year to 53,500 passenger cars while Spain's climbed by four percent to 23,000.

In August, smart sales rose by four percent to 6,800 passenger cars. Through August, 79,700 vehicles were sold. A total of 12,000 smart roadsters and roadster-coupés were sold during the first eight months of 2003, greatly exceeding the sales target of 8,000 vehicles set for the entire year. To open up new sales opportunities, smart is currently conducting a market offensive in which the sales network is to be expanded to 30 markets by year's end. One strategically important step in this offensive was the start of sales in Mexico at the end of August. The move clears the way for the company to enter the American continent, and thus the economically important NAFTA region.

Overview of Mercedes Car Group Sales in August 2003

* Mercedes-Benz passenger cars