Mercedes-Benz shares fell by 4% at around 1 pm CEST on Wednesday before paring their losses, after the firm announced sales of 491,700 cars and vans in the third quarter of 2026, 6% fewer than a year earlier.
Growth in Europe and North America, alongside record battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales, was not enough to offset weakness in China
“Mercedes-Benz Cars achieved the highest quarterly BEV sales in the company’s history, led by the electric GLC, whose sales more than tripled compared with Q2,” said Mathias Geisen, the Mercedes-Benz board member responsible for sales and customer experience.
Global sales in the car segment alone dropped 8% year on year to 407,200 vehicles.
In Asia, Mercedes sold 25% fewer cars than a year earlier, a total of 132,300 vehicles. This was dragged down by a 31% decline in the Chinese market, where intense competition and challenging market conditions squeezed Mercedes’ sales, according to the carmaker. The best-performing models in China included the GLC and E-Class; together, these accounted for almost two-thirds of Mercedes-Benz Cars sales in the country.
China accounted for almost a quarter of Mercedes-Benz’s global car sales in the second quarter, underlining the importance of the market to the German manufacturer.
The latest decline follows a 30% fall in Chinese car sales in the second quarter. Mercedes cut its full-year car sales and group revenue forecasts in July, citing continued weakness in China, where tougher competition, subdued demand and changes to its model range had weighed on performance.
Excluding China, group sales increased 2%, while car sales alone rose 1%. “Outside China, car sales increased for the third consecutive quarter in 2026,” Geisen said.
Electric car sales reach record high
Growth in Europe and North America helped support sales. This came as interest in EVs grew significantly.
Electric car sales rose 61% year on year globally to 68,400 vehicles, up 29% from the second quarter.
In Europe, Mercedes-Benz Cars achieved record quarterly battery-electric vehicle (BEV) sales, up 78% year on year and 24% compared with the second quarter.
“Our new electric models GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA are sold out in Europe for the rest of the year, with order books extending into 2027,” Geisen said.
The company added that its plants in Bremen and Rastatt in Germany, and Kecskemét in Hungary, were operating on three-shift schedules to meet demand.
Fully electric vehicles accounted for a record 16.8% of global car sales, up 7.2 percentage points from the prior-year quarter, according to Mercedes.
Overall European car sales rose 5% to 168,700 vehicles. This was mainly driven by growth in Germany, where sales increased 13%, and the UK, where they rose 7%.
In North America, Mercedes-Benz Cars sales increased 4% to 83,200 vehicles in the third quarter, with US sales rising 6%.
In the first nine months of 2026, Mercedes-Benz sold 1,244,400 cars, down 7% from the same period a year earlier, while sales of fully electric cars rose 40% to 165,500 units.