Mercedes-Benz car sales fall 8% in third quarter as 31% drop in China offsets European electric gains

Drop in third-quarter car sales

Mercedes-Benz Group reported a 6% decline in total global deliveries for the third quarter of 2026, delivering 491,700 passenger cars and commercial vehicles. In the core passenger car division, sales fell 8% year-on-year to 407,200 vehicles between July and September. Over the first nine months of the year, group sales reached 1.5 million units, down 6% compared to 2025. Across that period, car deliveries dropped 7% to 1.24 million units, while commercial vans slid 1% to 258,800 units. Outside China, passenger car deliveries rose 1%, marking a third straight quarter of growth in non-Asian markets.

European gains and battery electric expansion

Growth in Western markets helped balance out Asian losses, as third-quarter European car deliveries rose 5% to 168,700 units. Demand in Germany climbed 13%, the United Kingdom grew 7%, and the United States rose 6%. Battery electric models drove momentum, with car division electric deliveries rising 61% year-on-year to 68,400 vehicles, alongside group electric sales climbing 52% to 78,100 units. In Europe, electric car sales increased 78%, meaning pure battery vehicles accounted for nearly one in three Mercedes-Benz passenger cars sold in the region. Globally, electric models comprised 16.8% of car sales, up from 9.6% a year earlier. Sales chief Mathias Geisen described European order books that stretch into 2027.

Our new electric models GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA are sold out in Europe for the rest of the year.

He pointed to that customer demand across the new model lines.

That shows our model offensive is in full swing.

Severe downturn in the Chinese market

Western gains could not offset a steep decline in China, where third-quarter sales dropped 31% to just under 87,000 cars. Deliveries to China fell 29% over the first nine months, leaving volumes at half their 2023 level. The Chinese car market contracted by a fifth due to broader economic weakness, ending electric car subsidies, and fuel price increases resulting from the war in Iran. German automakers face pressure as local buyers turn away from combustion engines and favor domestic electric brands. The electric CLA sold fewer than 100 units per month, according to Marklines data. The long-wheelbase electric GLC reached four-digit monthly volumes, yet lagged behind its combustion-engine equivalent, which registers about 8,000 sales per month.

Luxury lineup weakness and medium-term targets

Downturns also hit the automaker's highest-margin offerings, with top-end luxury segment sales dropping 21% in the third quarter and 12% over nine months. Chief executive Ola Källenius targeted growth in this bracket, but the updated S-Class sedan introduced in January has not lifted Chinese sales. Management now looks to the large GLE SUV, which launched in China in September. To respond, Mercedes-Benz is pursuing cost reductions and rolling out several dozen updated model lines through 2027. Car deliveries previously stagnated in 2023, fell 3% in 2024, and dropped 9% in 2025 to slightly over 1.8 million units. The company aims to return to two million annual car sales before the end of the decade, though not by 2027.