Mercedes Benz USA Reports August Sales Down 4.2%

Mercedes-Benz Year-to-Date Sales Up 4.4 Percent

MONTVALE, N.J., Sept. 3 -- Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) reported August sales of 17,583 vehicles, pushing the company's year-to-date volume to 142,213, up 4.4 percent over last year's record-setting pace of 136,212. This represents the all-time best sales for the first 8 months of any year in MBUSA history.

The C-Class model line was the sales volume leader for both the month (5,569) and the year-to-date (45,661). Other highlights for the month included a 13.5 percent increase in sales for the company's high-end models as a group -- CL-, SL- and S-Class. The E-Class saw a 27.7 percent gain for the month (4,047 vs. 3,169) and a 61.5 percent increase year-to-date (34,414 vs. 21,309).

Boosted by the aggressive product offensive in the high-performance AMG models launched this year, including the new E55, AMG models as a group posted an increase of 65.4 percent year-to-date (7,273 vs. 4,398 units). Separately, through its Starmark pre-owned vehicle program, MBUSA recorded sales of 4,949 for the month, an increase of 30 percent over last August, marking the second-highest month in Starmark history. On a year-to-date basis, Starmark sales increased 21.1 percent to 35,197 units sold compared to 29,069 year-to-date in 2002.

                            MERCEDES-BENZ USA
                           Sales -- August 2003

  Model             Aug '03  Aug '02  Monthly%  YTD 2003  YTD 2002  Yearly %

  C-CLASS TOTAL       5,569    6,099     -8.7%    45,661    44,188      3.3%

  E-CLASS TOTAL       4,047    3,169     27.7%    34,414    21,309     61.5%

  S-CLASS TOTAL       1,638    1,486     10.2%    13,956    12,912      8.1%

  CL TOTAL              207      296    -30.1%     2,384     2,650    -10.0%

  SL TOTAL            1,050      768     36.7%     7,829     8,966    -12.7%

  CLK TOTAL           1,657    1,802     -8.0%    12,825    11,908      7.7%

  SLK TOTAL             570      704    -19.0%     4,334     5,900    -26.5%

  M-CLASS TOTAL       2,670    3,793    -29.6%    19,618    26,247    -25.3%

  G-CLASS               175      231    -24.2%     1,192     2,132    -44.1%

  GRAND TOTAL        17,583   18,348     -4.2%   142,213   136,212      4.4%