Mercedes’ electric car sales have fallen year-on-year for six consecutive quarters. The Stuttgart-based company has now reported growth again for the third quarter of 2025, thanks in part to the new CLA. Things are also looking up for vans.
Since the first quarter of 2024, Mercedes-Benz has only seen declining electric car sales. That has now changed: between the beginning of July and the end of September, the manufacturer sold 51,200 BEVs across the group, representing a 9% increase over Q3 2024 and a substantial 22% increase over the second quarter of 2024.
In the current year, the Mercedes-Benz Group has sold 138,600 electric vehicles, which is still down 7% compared to the same period last year, due to the weak first half of the year.
Plug-in hybrids still perform stronger
In the passenger car business, Mercedes-Benz Cars recorded 42,600 BEVs in the quarterly balance sheet. Here, too, this represents 22% growth compared to the second quarter, but the same level as in the previous year: Mercedes-Benz Cars reported 42,500 electric cars for the third quarter of 2024.
At that time, this represented a decline of almost a third for the year as a whole, but now it is at least a stable result. However, Mercedes remains below last year’s figures for the current year: 118,400 electric Mercedes cars represent a 13% decline from the same period the previous year.
The impact of China and the U.S.
“Battery electric vehicle sales of cars and vans rose 9% on the year and 22% on the quarter, thanks to the launch of the electric CLA and improved availability of eVans.”
“Overall, we continue to see good demand for our Top-End vehicles and receive excellent feedback for the electric CLA, which led EV sales to rise by 22% on the quarter. Our new products are creating fresh momentum and enthusiasm, setting the stage for further sales growth,” Mathias Geisen continued.
Top-End Vehicle sales rose 5% on the quarter and were up 10% year-on-year to 67,800 units, representing a high Top-End Vehicle share of 15.4%. Q3 sales of the S-Class product family increased to 28,300 units, a plus of 11% compared to Q2 and 9% compared to Q3 2024.
In the third quarter, every third S-Class sold globally was a Mercedes-Maybach model. Furthermore, customer demand for Mercedes-AMG vehicles and the iconic G-Class remained strong, resulting in sales increases of +6% and +31%, respectively.
Mercedes plans to follow up with the new electric GLC, which was unveiled at the IAA Mobility in September, from the beginning of 2026. The electric CLA Shooting Brake, an electric C-Class, and other SUV models featuring CLA technology (the successors to the EQA and EQB will also be sold under the model names GLA and GLB) are set to hit the market in the coming year.
The van market
In the van segment, total sales of 83,800 vehicles also declined by 10%. However, sales of electric vans increased by 25% compared to Q2 and by as much as 96% compared to Q3 2024, to 8,600 units.
“In Europe, the share of electric vehicles accounted for 14% of our van sales during the third quarter, highlighting that our commitment to EVs is resonating with customers and contributing to steady growth,” says Sagree Sardien, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans Sales & Marketing.
“Additionally, we launched our Van Uptime Monitor across many European markets, which also resonated well, continuing our commitment to providing premium services for our customers,” he added.
Since the beginning of the year, Mercedes-Benz Vans has sold 260,200 units, including 20,200 electric vans. “Year-to-date, Mercedes-Benz Vans sold 260,200 units, with 20,200 electric vans, a 61% increase over the year-earlier period. It reflects the growing enthusiasm for the electric van portfolio,” the company wrote.
