Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles near 15% of total US sales after solid Q3

After EV sales soared 284% in Q3 over last year, Mercedes electric vehicles are nearing 15% of total US sales. In comparison, Ford and GM are around 3% to 4%.

Mercedes-Benz sold 10,423 electric vehicles between July and September, an increase of 284% from last year.

The German automaker offers five fully electric vehicles in the US, one in each segment. These include the EQS sedan, EQS SUV, EQE sedan, EQE SUV, and EQB.

The EQE SUV led Mercedes electric vehicle sales in Q3, starting at around $78,000. Next up was the brand’s most affordable electric SUV, the EQB, starting at $52,750.

The EQS SUV saw impressive sales growth, up 476% from last year, with 1,593 units sold. Meanwhile, sales of the EQS sedan fell 35% YOY with 1,100 units sold.

Through the first nine months of the year, the Mercedes EQS SUV leads the pack with 7,086 models sold. The EQB slightly edged out the EQE SUV, with 6,674 and 6,333 models sold this year.

Mercedes electric vehicles near 15% of US sales

Dimitris Psillakis, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz USA, said the company is “very encouraged” by the demand for its EVs, including the Alabama-produced EQE SUV and EQS SUV.

Mercedes EV sales reached 14.7% of US passenger vehicle sales in the third quarter. The brand’s EV lineup now accounts for 14% of overall passenger vehicle sales in 2023.

Although Ford and GM both sold more electric models than Mercedes in their home market, the German automaker has a higher percentage of its total sales.

Ford just edged out GM’s 20,092 in EV sales, with 20,962 sold in Q3. Despite the higher number of EVs sold, they accounted for just 3% to 4% of total sales.

Electrek’s Take

The next few quarters will be exciting to watch as legacy automakers ramp production to get their share of the growing EV market and look to close the gap with Tesla.

Meanwhile, Rivian, an EV startup that began selling vehicles two years ago, is already outpacing much of the overseas competition.

Rivian continues to beat expectations, with 15,564 electric vehicles delivered in Q3, up 23% from last quarter. The EV maker is on pace to build 52,000 models this year. That said, legacy automakers will have to step it up or risk losing (more) market share to Tesla, Rivian, and others.