Shares of Mercedes-Benz declined by 4% around 1 pm CEST on Wednesday before paring losses, following the announcement that the company sold 491,700 cars and vans in the third quarter of 2026, representing a 6% decrease compared to the previous year. Growth across Europe and North America, alongside record figures for battery-electric vehicles, proved insufficient to counteract market weakness in China.
Mathias Geisen, the Mercedes-Benz board member overseeing sales and customer experience, stated that the car segment achieved its highest quarterly battery-electric vehicle sales in company history, driven by the electric GLC, which experienced more than triple the sales volume recorded in the second quarter. Total global sales within the car segment alone dropped 8% year on year to 407,200 vehicles.
In Asia, vehicle sales fell 25% to 132,300 units, heavily impacted by a 31% drop in China. The German manufacturer attributed this contraction to intense competition and challenging market conditions. The GLC and E-Class remained the top-performing models in China, combining to represent nearly two-thirds of total car sales in the country. China accounted for roughly a quarter of global car sales during the second quarter, highlighting its significance to the company. This drop follows a 30% contraction in Chinese car sales during the second quarter, which prompted Mercedes to lower its full-year car sales and group revenue guidance in July due to subdued demand, heightened competition, and model adjustments.
Conversely, group sales excluding China grew 2%, while car sales alone increased 1%. Geisen noted that outside of China, car sales rose for the third consecutive quarter in 2026. Higher interest in electric vehicles across Europe and North America provided support. Globally, electric car sales climbed 61% year on year to 68,400 vehicles, marking a 29% rise from the second quarter. In Europe, battery-electric vehicle sales reached record quarterly levels, surging 78% from a year earlier and 24% compared to the second quarter. Geisen reported that new electric models, including the GLC, CLA, GLB, and GLA, are fully booked in Europe for the remainder of the year, with orders stretching into 2027. Manufacturing facilities in Bremen and Rastatt, Germany, alongside the plant in Kecskemét, Hungary, are running on three-shift schedules to satisfy demand.
Fully electric vehicles generated a record 16.8% share of total global car sales, climbing 7.2 percentage points over the prior-year period. Total European car sales increased 5% to 168,700 vehicles, supported primarily by a 13% rise in Germany and a 7% increase in the UK. North American car sales grew 4% to 83,200 vehicles in the third quarter, with US sales advancing 6%. For the first nine months of 2026, Mercedes-Benz delivered 1,244,400 cars, down 7% compared to the same timeframe in the prior year, whereas fully electric car sales expanded 40% to 165,500 units.
