The doubling of sales of Mercedes-Benz EVs in China also significantly helped its bottom line.
While other foreign marques may have been feeling the squeeze lately from its local competition, there nevertheless appears that the allure of owning a three-pointed star is still strong over in China. And such is reflected in the sales figures, as while Mercedes-Benz as a whole has recorded an 8% dip in sales in 2023 to 737,200 units in the world’s largest auto market, Chinese deliveries of its higher-end models however apparently grew by over 20%.
Now delving deeper into the details, Mercedes-Benz has proudly touted that deliveries of its Maybach luxury line has achieved a staggering annual growth in China of 21% in 2023. The German automaker also revealed for there to be a surge in sales for its G-Class SUVs over there too, with deliveries of these boxy behemoths in the region growing by 22% last year relative to 2022 deliveries.
Though while the ultra-luxury segment has certainly boosted Mercedes-Benz’s fortunes in China, what really saved its bacon over there is instead to be its all-electric lineup. Such is as the three-pointed star marque revealed for annual Chinese deliveries of its EVs apparently more than doubled in 2023 in comparison to 2022 figures, but the company unfortunately did not release concrete figures to further breakdown that claim.
Interestingly however, a figure that has been released by Mercedes-Benz is for its van division to have sold 33,400 units over in China last year. This marks a rather impressive rise of 15% relative to 2022, and has contributed somewhat to the German automaker’s best-ever sales result in this van segment at least during this past year.
Commenting more on its 2023 retail performance in China, Oliver Britz, executive vice president of sales for Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Services Co., Ltd. has stated: “With a robust product lineup and unparalleled customer experiences, we aim to consistently fulfil the desire of Chinese customers for the Mercedes-Benz brand.” He further confirmed that more than 15 new models will debut over in China this year, with said arrivals to ‘cover multiple driving modes and multiple product matrices’.
Duan Jianjun, president and CEO of Beijing Mercedes-Benz Sales Service Co meanwhile handily confirmed at least some of the new models that will arrive in China over the next 12 months. These will include the new all-electric G-Class, the Mercedes-Maybach EQS SUV, and the Mercedes-AMG EQE 53 SUV, as well as the new CLE lineup and the new-generation EQA and EQB.
The German automaker also further reiterated its commitment towards improving the e-mobility experience of Chinese consumers next year, with Mercedes-Benz striving to expand its already-comprehensive supercharging network in the region. Its public charging service currently covers nearly 590,000 points in more than 340 cities across China like Chengdu, Foshan, Qingdao, Chongqing, Kunming, Wuhan, Suzhou and Changzhou.
