Mercedes-Benz increased its sales of electric cars and plug-in hybrids by 37 per cent to 67,800 units in the first quarter of 2022. Sales of the fully electric EQ models more than tripled to 21,900 (+210 per cent).
The plug-in hybrids achieved their best first quarter ever with an increase of eight per cent to 45,900 vehicles – although they account for the significantly larger share of xEV sales, growth was much lower for the plug-in hybrids. In the same period last year, Mercedes-Benz sold only around 3,475 fewer PHEVs than in 2022 – in contrast, the manufacturer was able to increase sales of BEVs by around 14,800 units.
Overall, BEVs (incl. Smart) and PHEVs now account for 15 per cent of new car sales worldwide at Mercedes-Benz Cars. In Europe, every third passenger car sold by Mercedes-Benz was electrified.
With an increase of 210 per cent compared to Q1 2021, Mercedes has admittedly grown more strongly than rival BMW. However, the Munich-based company, which also just published its sales figures for the first quarter, is ahead in absolute terms: the BMW Group delivered 35,289 BEVs between the beginning of January and the end of March. That is “only” an increase of 149.2 per cent.
A comparison of plug-in hybrids is not possible, as BMW did not list them separately in its report. That leaves a look at the BEV shares: At BMW, 5.9 per cent of all deliveries in the first quarter were purely electric, at Mercedes, it was 4.3 per cent.
In terms of total sales across all drive types, the Stuttgart company sold 501,600 units, a good 90,000 vehicles fewer than BMW. In addition, the decline – due to the semiconductor bottlenecks – was greater than that of the Munich company at -15 per cent.
Mercedes does not release figures on the individual e-models. Instead, there is only the general statement that sales were “particularly characterised by the strong demand for the EQA, EQS and EQC models”.
“In a challenging first quarter, we were able to more than triple our battery electric vehicle sales and posted a stellar result with our top-end vehicle segment,” says Britta Seeger, Member of the Board of Management of Mercedes-Benz Group AG responsible for Mercedes-Benz Cars Sales. “Ongoing strong demand for our electrified vehicles in all segments and markets proves that customers desire our EVs und plug-in hybrids. And with the launch of our new EQS SUV on April 19th we further accelerate our transformation.”
Keyword: Mercedes triples EV sales over Q1 of 2022