The company said it sold 68,400 battery-electric cars in the quarter, up 61%, while its new electric GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA are sold out across Europe.
Across cars and vans, the group delivered 491,700 units in the third quarter of 2026, according to the company. Its car arm set a quarterly record for battery-electric sales at 68,400 vehicles, up 61% year on year. Outside China, group sales rose 2%, while a fall in China pulled the overall total down.
The company reported 491,700 cars and vans sold across its group in Q3 2026, and its car business recorded the highest quarterly battery-electric sales in its history. Car sales totalled 407,200 vehicles in the quarter, 8% below the same period a year earlier, mainly because of weaker demand in China. Outside China, car sales rose 1%.
Battery-electric sales across cars and vans rose 52% on the year. Group sales fell 6% overall, which the company linked to challenging market conditions in China, but rose 2% outside China. One in four Mercedes-Benz cars sold worldwide in the quarter was a plug-in hybrid or a fully electric car.
Mathias Geisen, a member of the board of management with responsibility for sales and customer experience, said the company's launch programme was gaining full momentum. He pointed to the electric GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA, which have sold out across Europe until the end of the year.
Electric models sold out in Europe
Battery-electric GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA models have sold out across Europe, with order books running into 2027. To meet demand, the Bremen, Rastatt and Kecskemet plants are running three-shift schedules. Within the Core segment, electric GLC sales were the main source of growth, and they more than tripled compared with the second quarter. Electric CLA sales rose 24% on the second quarter as the model reached more markets, including the United States and Japan.
Across Europe, car sales rose 5% to 168,700 vehicles, led by Germany (up 13%) and the United Kingdom (up 7%). Battery-electric sales in Europe reached a record, up 78% on the year, and close to a third of the cars it sold there were fully electric. Counting plug-in hybrids as well, electrified models made up 25% of global car sales.
Sales by region
In North America, car sales rose 4% to 83,200 vehicles in the quarter and were up 11% in the first nine months. In the United States, sales rose 6% in the third quarter and 12% in the first nine months. The company said the new GLE, GLE Coupe and GLS reached US dealers in September.
In Asia, car sales totalled 132,300 vehicles, down 25%. In China, car sales fell 31% amid tough conditions and intense competition, but the GLC and E-Class made up almost two-thirds of car sales there and held up better than the overall market. The electric GLC L, launched in July, is ramping up, and the locally produced GLE L SUV was launched in mid-September.
Vans, SUVs and studios
Mercedes-Benz Vans reported 84,400 units sold worldwide in the quarter, with sales outside China up 6%. Electric eVan sales rose 12%, lifting the electric share of van sales to 11% worldwide. Large vans grew 15%. SUVs made up 56% of Mercedes-Benz car sales in the first nine months, led by the GLC.
The company also said 15 Mercedes-Benz Studios have opened in major cities since April, with three more due in the coming months, and that more than 1.5 million people have visited them.
