Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1082991
M3 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 17 FEBRUARY 2019 MOTORING PARK AT... www.mcpcarparks.com.mt C A R PA R K S €3 .00 AFTER 1 PM Excluding special events DINE IN VALLETTA T: 2125 0055 facebook.com/mcpcarparks MERCEDESBENZ delivered 180,539 vehicles to its cus- tomers all over the world in January (-6.7%). The second-best start to a year for sales was influenced by important model changes in the high-volume SUV and compact-car segments. In particular, the model change of the B-Class, CLA and GLE, each with a double-digit sales decrease, had a nega- tive impact on total unit sales worldwide despite the ongo- ing high demand for the cars with the star. From today's perspective, the company expects the model changes to affect de- liveries in the first quarter. With a high degree of prob- ability, the full year will be affected also by exogenous challenges and geopolitical risks. At the same time, Mer- cedes-Benz Cars assumes that the model offensive will lead to sales growth in the second half of the year. The company with the three-pointed star therefore expects to slightly increase its worldwide unit sales over- all, and to achieve another record in 2019. Last month, Mercedes-Benz defended its market leader- ship in the premium segment in markets including Ger- many, the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Portu- gal, Denmark, Finland, Czech Republic, South Korea, the United States, Canada and Brazil. "With more than 180,000 vehicles delivered, Mer- cedes-Benz has started the year 2019 with the second- best January ever. Last month was below the strong figure for the previous year; this was in line with our expec- tations, however, due to im- portant model changes. With the B-Class, the CLA and the GLE, we look forward in the coming months to the new generations of models very popular with our customers and expect the model offen- sive in our high-volume seg- ments to provide significant sales impetus," said Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Daim- ler AG responsible for Mer- cedes-Benz Cars Marketing and Sales. "2019 will be a challenging year for the en- tire industry. But we expect to inspire our customers with new models – especially in the second half of the year – and therefore aim to achieve a slight increase in unit sales and a new record in the full year." Mercedes-Benz delivers more than 180,000 vehicles worldwide in January