Kuala Lumpur, 20 January 2010 – Mercedes-Benz Malaysia maintained leadership of the premium passenger car segment on the back a good performance of 3,903 passenger cars in 2009, accounting for 49 per cent of the top marques sold in Malaysia.

Despite the less than positive sentiment affecting the automotive industry coupled by concerns of the global economic environment, MBM grew sales of its C-Class and B-Cless by five per cent and 37 per cent respectively.

"While our overall annual sales dipped six per cent compared to our best ever performance in 2008, we are buoyed by our second half performance which saw sales grow 8.8 per cent from 1869 sold in the first half to 2034 in the third and fourth quarters to surpass expectations amidst continuous volatility.

"We are encouraged by our performance and will continue to build on our leadership in 2010. In fact, despite a slight blip, Mercedes-Benz passenger cars have once again finished ahead in the premium passenger car segment, cementing our lead with a market share of 49 per cent in the core competitive segment," said Peter Honegg, President & CEO, Mercedes-Benz Malaysia.

"Our target this year is 4,200 units of passenger cars which was our performance in 2008," he added.

"The new products this are will be variance of the E-Class, facelift of the S-Class, new Canter and also diesel models," said Florian Muller, Vice-President, Sales & Marketing.

Commercial vehicle sales within Mercedes-Benz Malaysia were not shared the ravages of the economic downturn which badly affected the construction and transportation industries. However, sales of the Mitsubishi Fuso picked up in the second half of the year bringing total deliveries in 2009 to 1,391 units, while the newly introduced Actros had generated encouraging response since its launch.