Mercedes-Benz sales dip, but electric cars and vans deliver much-needed boost

Mercedes-Benz had a tough third quarter this year, with overall vehicle sales taking a hit in key markets, with the German automaker reporting total sales of 525,300 cars and vans. But, hiding in those falling numbers, there's a much more optimistic story about the growing appetite for its electric cars and commercial EVs.

The passenger car division, Mercedes-Benz Cars, sold 441,500 units in the third quarter. This was mainly due to a difficult market in China, where sales dropped by 27% compared to the same period last year. The North American market also saw a 17% decline. The company said it was carefully managing inventory levels in the United States to navigate the new tariff policies. There was positive movement in Europe, though, with sales climbing by 2%. The real bright spot, however, was in the electric vehicle segment.

Sales of battery electric vehicles saw a 22% increase over the second quarter of 2025, reaching 42,600 units. Much of this momentum is credited to the first deliveries of the new electric CLA in Europe. Alongside fully electric models, plug-in hybrids also proved popular, with sales jumping by 20%. When combined, sales of electrified vehicles reached 96,300 units for the quarter, a 10% rise from the previous year, and nearly 22% of all passenger cars sold.

The true star of the quarter was the Mercedes-Benz Vans division which sold a total of 83,800 vans, and of those, 8,600 were all-electric. That's a 96% increase in electric van sales compared to the third quarter of 2024. For the year so far, Mercedes-Benz has sold 20,200 eVans, a 61% jump from the same period last year. In Europe, electric models accounted for 14% of all van sales in the quarter.

Even as overall sales numbers dipped, the company's most expensive models continued to find buyers. The sales in the "Top-End" category (Mercedes-AMG, Maybach, G-Class, and S-Class) climbed by 10% year-over-year to 67,800 units, suggesting that even when the broader market is facing trouble, demand for luxury and high-performance vehicles is as strong as ever. The S-Class family, for example, saw its sales rise by 9% compared to last year, with the ultra-luxurious Mercedes-Maybach models making up a third of all S-Class sales globally.

Mercedes-Benz is in the middle of what it calls its biggest product launch campaign ever, with several new EVs on the horizon. An all-electric version of the popular GLC SUV is coming in early 2026, and will be followed by an electric C-Class, both building on the momentum created by the electric CLA. The plan is clear: even when traditional markets falter, the future, at least for Mercedes-Benz, appears to be electric.

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