Mercedes-Benz Cars Tripled Global Sales of xEVs in 2020; 7.4% of Sales

Mercedes-Benz experienced a sharp increase in xEV deliveries in 2020, with more than 160,000 plug-in hybrids and all-electric vehicles sold worldwide (+228.8%), including about 87,000 units in the fourth quarter alone.

At Mercedes-Benz Cars, the xEV share increased from 2% in 2019 to 7.4% in 2020. Sales of plug-in hybrids almost quadrupled to more than 115,000 units. Approximately 20,000 EQC (combined electrical consumption: 21.5 kWh/100 km) were handed over to customers worldwide. The EQV (combined electrical consumption: 26.4 kWh/100 km) achieved sales of about 1,700 vehicles. Deliveries of the all-electric smart models totalled approximately 27,000 units, a strong double-digit increase (+45.6%) compared with the previous sales record in 2019 (18,400 units).

Four new Mercedes-EQ models will be presented in 2021: the EQA, EQB, EQE and EQS. The Mercedes-Benz plug-in hybrid family, currently consisting of more than 20 model variants, will be renewed with electrified derivatives of the C-Class and the S-Class. For 2021, Mercedes-Benz Cars expects to increase the xEV share to approximately 13%.

Overall, despite the major challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, Mercedes-Benz delivered more than two million cars for the fifth consecutive year. Through advanced digitization in sales and service, Mercedes-Benz was able to respond to the rapidly changing situation and the various regulatory requirements during the pandemic. With sales of 2,164,187 units (-7.5%), Mercedes-Benz maintained a leading global position compared with its core competitors.

Mercedes-Benz benefited from the ongoing recovery in many markets in the second half of the year. 1,024,315 units were sold in the Asia-Pacific region (+4.7%). The main sales driver was China, with an unprecedented recovery: due to a double-digit growth of 11.7%, a new sales record with 774,382 units was achieved.

In the Europe region, the brand delivered 784,183 passenger cars last year (-16.4%), while in Germany, Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 286,108 cars (‑10.1%). Sales in the North America region totalled 317,592 units (-14.7%). Mercedes-Benz delivered 274,916 cars in the US last year (-13.0%). Overall, the largest markets for Mercedes-Benz were China, Germany and the US, followed by Great Britain and South Korea.