Mercedes-Benz Q3 sales drop 6% amid record electric vehicle deliveries

Mercedes-Benz reported a 6% decline in global sales for the third quarter of 2026, delivering 491,700 cars and vans. The drop came despite record electric vehicle sales and growth in Europe and North America, as weakness in China weighed heavily on results. Shares fell 4% in early trading on Wednesday before paring losses.

The car segment alone saw an 8% drop to 407,200 vehicles. Asia sales plunged 25% to 132,300 units, with China down 31% due to intense competition and challenging market conditions. China accounted for about a quarter of global car sales in the second quarter, but its share has shrunk as the market deteriorates.

Record EV sales fail to offset China slump

Fully electric vehicle sales reached a record 68,400 units in Q3, up 61% year-on-year and 29% versus the previous quarter. Electric vehicles accounted for 16.8% of global car sales, a 7.2 percentage point increase. In Europe, BEV sales hit a quarterly record, rising 78% year-on-year, with the new electric GLC, CLA, GLB and GLA models sold out for the rest of the year.

Mathias Geisen, Mercedes-Benz board member for sales, said: “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.” He added that outside China, car sales increased for the third consecutive quarter. Excluding China, group sales rose 2% and car sales 1%.

European car sales grew 5% to 168,700 vehicles, with Germany up 13% and the UK up 7%. North America sales rose 4% to 83,200 units. For the first nine months of 2026, total car sales fell 7% to 1,244,400, while fully electric car sales jumped 40% to 165,500 units.