Autos and motos: all news and articles

Daimler AG is reporting today that worldwide sales at its Mercedes-Benz Cars divisions dropped 12.4 percent in May 2009 to 97,300 new units, bringing total sales of the Mercedes-Benz, Maybach and smart brands to 433,100 units through the first five months of the year (a decrease of 21.1 percent). Individually, sales at Mercedes-Benz were down 12.1 percent on the month (86,300 units), while smart noted a slightly larger decline, with sales trailing 14.9 percent when compared to May 2008 (11,000 units). As a result of these figures, year-to-date sales at Mercedes-Benz are off 22.3 percent (383,000 units), while smart is down 9.9 percent (50,100 units) compared to 2008’s five-month ytd total.

I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of a better way to kick off a beautiful summer Friday morning than with a healthy dose of Mercedes tuning goodness, and thanks to the fine gentlemen at Wald, that’s exactly what we have for you today. First up is a new tuning package for the W204 Mercedes-Benz C-Class Estate, entitled the Wald Sports Line Black Bison Edition. Highlights of the kit include a new front apron (with new fog lights), new vented front fenders, side skirts, a new rear apron, and a sport exhaust system.

Mercedes-Benz USA is reporting that for the month of July 2009, sales totaled 16,228 new vehicles ? a drop of 21.7 percent when compared to July 2008. As a result, sales at MBUSA now total 101,316 new vehicles through the first seven months of the year, down 27.6 percent compared to the year prior.

As for the models making headlines, the 2010 Mercedes E-Class took the volume lead in its first month on the market, with the sedan’s sales totaling 5,556 units. The C-Class and GLK-Class also noted high volume sales, selling 4,450 units and 1,809 units, respectively.