Mercedes-Benz car sales up 25.1 percent from January to June

In the first six months of 2021 Mercedes-Benz delivered 1,182,724 passenger cars to customers worldwide, an increase of 25.1 percent and set two new records in China with the highest deliveries in a second quarter with 219,059 units, which is an increase of 5.8 percent and in a first half of a year with 441,579 units, an increase of 27.6 percent. At the same time, Mercedes achieved double-digit Q2 sales growth in Germany with an increase of 26.3%, while in the USA there was a 38.6 percent increase.

However, the worldwide supply shortage of certain semiconductor components affected global deliveries to customers in Q2, especially in June, with the shortage expected to continue to impact sales in the second half of the year.

Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes‑Benz AG responsible for Marketing and Sales, commented on the results:

“Great customer demand for our Mercedes-Benz models propelled our double-digit growth in the first half of 2021. Order intake levels remain high supported by the popularity of the new S-Class, the xEVs and the sales launch of the new C-Class in many markets.

“The positive feedback we received about the EQS following its world premiere and our strong EV sales momentum is proof that Mercedes-EQ is just at the beginning of its electric success story”, said Britta Seeger.”

Deliveries of plug-in hybrids and all-electric cars more than quadrupled in just six months, reaching 121,500 units, which is an increase of 305.0 percent with around 39,000 all-electric vehicles being delivered from January to June, which is an increase of 291.4 percent.

Strong first half-year sales for BMW Group

BMW Group ended the first half of 2021 with a new all-time high in sales, with a total of 1,339,080 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles being delivered to customers, which is an increase of 39.1 percent.

The group grew its sales in all regions of the world as well as growing its sales of both fully-electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 148.5 percent year-on-year, which makes electromobility a major growth factor for the company with sales of fully electric vehicles increasing by 183.9 percent.

Globally in the first half of this year, 1,178,292 BMW vehicles were delivered to customers, which is an increase of 39.9%, with the top performers being the high-volume BMW 3 Series, with a growth of 49.1 percent. This means that BMW M GmbH has reported its most successful first half-year ever with year-on-year sales growth of 39.4 percent.

Hyundai partners with shared mobility players to create conducive EV ecosystem

Hyundai Motor Group, with its electrification strategy, called the ‘Strategy 2025 roadmap’, plans to spend over US$87bn on the development and production of electric vehicles and autonomous vehicles by 2025. To achieve this goal, the company has partnered and set-up strategic alliances with a number of other companies that include EV component manufacturers such as batteries, charging infrastructure, battery recycling, leasing companies and shared mobility companies. These deals have been central to Hyundai’s strategy of increasing EV adoption and he creation of a favourable ecosystem for future electric mobility according to GlobalData.

Bakar Sadik Agwan commented:

“Hyundai plans to expand the portfolio of EVs to 44 models by 2025 which will include 23 battery EVs, 13 hybrid, six plug-in hybrids and two fuel-cell electric models. The company’s recent expansion of its existing partnership with Southeast Asia’s shared mobility giant ‘Grab’ is a certainly a ‘win-win’ situation for both the parties with electrification being their common priority.

“Technological improvements by automakers and carbon-neutrality commitments by shared mobility companies and government alike, globally, is resulting in similar partnerships. Hyundai particularly has been keen on partnering with shared mobility players across key geographies to boost its EVs and autonomous businesses.”