Mercedes Car Group, DaimlerChrysler’s premium auto division, improved its second-quarter earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) by 74 per cent.

EBIT reached €1.204 billion in the second quarter, up from just €690 million in the same quarter last year. Some 320,200 vehicles were sold in total, as revenues remained fairly steady at €12.6 billion.

Sales of Mercedes-Benz brand passenger cars reached 285,600 in the second quarter, representing a slight fall from the same period last year, but the launch in some major markets of the new C-Class is likely to boost sales figures dramatically.

The new C-Class sold 17,200 models in June alone and Mercedes-Benz also expects a boost from additional engine versions in the future.

A particular highlight in the second quarter was the smart fortwo, which saw sales increasing by a staggering 44 per cent. In all, second quarter sales for the smart brand fell from 34,500 to 31,700, although this is largely attributable to the discontinuation of the smart forfour.

The Mercedes Car Group expects unit sales in 2007 to at least equal the record level achieved in 2006. The recent launch of the new C-Classsedan has been a particular success and the station-wagon version of the C-Class will be on sale before the year comes to an end.

Significantly, Mercedes-Benz is also performing remarkably well in terms of quality, with the number of faults per vehicle falling by 25 per cent in the last two years.

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