Mercedes-Benz Q1 results 1

Mercedes-Benz Malaysia (MBM) yesterday announced the performance results for its first quarter of 2015 - a total of 1,886 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars were sold during the period, a 13% increase over the corresponding quarter in 2014.

The Q1 volume represents a milestone for MBM, which began life as DaimlerChrysler Malaysia on Jan 1, 2003 - it's the best first quarter ever in the company's 12-year history. A new record for monthly sales was also made in Q1, with 967 units sold in March.

The biggest seller for the brand was the W212 E-Class, with 1034 units sold, of which 638 units were of the locally-assembled E300 BlueTEC Hybrid that was launched in January. As for the W222 S400L Hybrid, which debuted last May, 270 units were shifted in the first quarter.

Mercedes-Benz Q1 results 4

The automaker's New Generation Compact Cars (NGCC) model range - made up by the likes of the W176 A-Class, C117 CLA-Class and GLA-Class - sold to the tune of 418 units within the first quarter, and the W205 C-Class shifted 140 units during the period in its fully-imported CBU guise.

The numbers for the 2015 World Car of the Year are expected to rise with its introduction in locally-assembled form - the CKD variants of the C 200 Avantgarde and C 250 Exclusive are set to be officially launched this week, priced at RM269,888 and RM299,888 respectively.

Eagle-eyed readers will have noticed the inclusion of an E 300 BlueTEC Hybrid Challenge (and the mention of 1,500 km on one tank of fuel) in the graphic shouting the numbers - we'll have the story on that one soon. And fans of the Mercedes-AMG GT will be pleased to hear that MBM has announced that the sports car will be making its market debut here towards the end of the year.