Staff report
December 2, 2015 - 12:59 pm ET
Mercedes-Benz posted a 12 percent decline in U.S. sales for November -- its biggest drop in more than six years -- wrapping up a rare two-day tally of monthly deliveries.
Mercedes said Tuesday that a “systems malfunction” prevented it from reporting its November figures along with the rest of the industry.
Its November decline, to 32,813 sales, marked its steepest since a 22 percent fall in July 2009. Smart brand sales were off 19 percent in November, for an overall Daimler AG drop of 12 percent.
The Daimler results dragged the U.S. industry to a 1.2 percent gain for November. Tuesday's tally of U.S. sales excluding Mercedes and Smart had put the industry 1.6 percent ahead of November 2014 levels.