Demand for range-topping Mercedes-Benz models soared by 30% in 2021, helping to drive a 9% year-on-year increase in revenues for the group as it ramps up investment in the next generation of electric vehicles.
Mercedes-Benz Group (renamed from Daimler Group earlier this month) recorded revenues of €168 billion (£140bn) in 2021, up from €154bn (£129bn) in 2020, with its Mercedes-Maybach, Mercedes-AMG and Mercedes G-Class sub-brands beating sales records across the board.
That's against a backdrop of restricted production, chiefly due to the semiconductor shortage, which resulted in an overall car and van production fall of 5% year on year to 2,330,169 units, the impact of which was abated by an uptick in demand for these higher-priced vehicles.
As an example, Maybach sales in China – the market that chalks up 35.5% of global Mercedes sales – ran at the rate of more than 1000 units per month (with the exception of October) and global sales of the new Mercedes-Benz S-Class soared by 40% to more than 87,000 units.
The G-Class SUV also enjoyed a bumper year, selling 41,174 units, and demand for AMG performance models soared by 16.7% to 145,979 units - a record year but nearly 20,000 units fewer than BMW's M division sold last year.
Revenue per Mercedes model sold has increased by 26% to an average of €49,800 (£41,500) compared with pre-pandemic 2019 and fixed costs have been slashed by 16%.
With focus shifting to these higher-margin models, Mercedes' car and van division was able to double its pre-tax earnings to €13.9bn (£11.6bn) year on year.
Looking ahead to 2022, the company says the semiconductor supply situation remains volatile and hard to predict, so it has taken "a cautious approach" to its forecasts.
Nonetheless, it expects sales to climb slightly in 2022, with the output of top-end models projected to climb by more than 10%. It will raise net pricing, but not to the extent that it will fully compensate for the "raw material headwinds", which are expected to increase in severity in 2022.
The firm also says its research and development costs will be higher in 2022 as it prepares the new MMA and AMG.EA electric vehicle platforms for launch in the coming years.
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