This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on October 9, 2018

KUALA LUMPUR: Mercedes-Benz Malaysia Sdn Bhd expects another year of record-breaking sales this year, with a strong third quarter (3Q18) under its belt and the upcoming launch of six new models by year end.

The German luxury automaker achieved record sales of 10,143 cars in the first nine months of 2018 (9M18), up 16% from the same period last year. It remains the market leader in Malaysia’s premium car segment, with a 2.5% market share.

A high growth rate was seen particularly from its Dream Cars collection, with 570 units sold to mark a 40% increase year-on-year (y-o-y). The group’s locally-produced limousines, including the C-, E- and S-Class models, recorded a 21.1% y-o-y increase to 6,344 units sold in 9M18, making up the majority of sales.

“Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s premium compact cars, comprising the A-Class, B-Class, GLA-Class and CLA-Class, recorded sales of 1,268 units, a 4% y-o-y increase from 9M17,” its vice-president of sales and marketing Mark Raine told a news conference yesterday to announce the company’s 3Q18 performance.

The sport utility vehicle (SUV) segment, meanwhile, recorded a 3.4% growth to 1,960 units sold.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia also saw a 16% growth in service volume to 109,927 vehicles across its 31 service centres in Malaysia. Mercedes-Benz Services Malaysia, the group’s financing arm, maintained a serviced portfolio of over RM2.5 billion as at Sept 30, 2018.

The company said it will launch a limousine, a compact car, three SUV models and a dream car in 4Q18. “With the new product launches, we are confident we will achieve organic product growth this year,” said Raine. These do not include the launch of the AMG E 53 and AMG E 53 Coupe yesterday.

In 2017, the luxury carmaker beat its annual sales record for the fourth year running, with 12,045 vehicles sold.

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia president and chief executive officer Dr Claus Weidner said it is working with its partners across the country and region to maintain profitability.

Cycle & Carriage Bintang Bhd, one of Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s largest local distributors, had seen margins impacted in the first half of 2018 as it witnessed a shift in Mercedes-Benz Malaysia’s product mix to lower-margin models.

“If you look at the trends of 3Q18, the product mix has actually reversed. We’ve sold more limousines [than lower-margin cars],” Weidner said, although he noted this trend could not be confirmed for 4Q18.