Mercedes-Benz Cars Global Deliveries : 2025-2026 (Q1)

After a 9% fall in 2025, 2026 kicks off with a 6% downturn. Not unexpected as it seems to be the norm for the industry, even at the premium end. 

Mercedes-Benz divides it's sales into three categories, Core, Entry and Top End, all of which lost ground evenly.

Data & photo source: Mercedes-Benz

Regions: Traditionally strong regions of Europe and North Amercia are doing well. The fly in the ointment is Asia, China is still an important market, but is less so with each passing year. The Rest was also down (11%) but accounts for just 4% of global deliveries.

Electric: Counting full electric and hybrid cars, 81,337 deliveries were made in Q1. That is just shy of 20%, which is lower than I expected. 

They matched the overall marque's 6% reduction in units delivered. Incentives being pared back in various places is affecting their success.

Audi Brand Global Deliveries : 2025-26 (Q1)

After a 2025 where deliveries were down 3%, 2025 has started with a 6% reduction in numbers. It's a trend for legacy brands, so not surprising. 

But still, there is always a story behind shifts in volume. You can't always rely on press releases to get the true story as they are designed to portray things in a positive light. 

Regions: What may surprise is North America. As we see below, the US is down 30%! US tariffs must have had an effect and with no manufacturing there, has been left exposed. To a some extent, the end of electric car subsidies would simply add to the reduction in units sold.

China simply isn't a market foreign brands can rely on and continued reductions of deliveries is hardly surprising. Europe was a bright light, currently closing in on being responsible for half of total deliveries. 

Segments: This odd data breakdown from Audi does at least show that the larger models are the ones pulling down sales. 

Data & photo source: Audi (A5 & Q5).

Mexico Passenger Car Sales: 2026 (Jan-Apr)

It's difficult to say whether the market is growing as some larger players are not reporting. BYD and GAC haven't been, while Chery, Jaecoo and Omoda pulled out after reporting last year. In 2026, imported Chinese cars had tariffs increased from 20 to 50%. China called the move protectionist and seeing as they have various duties to limit imports, they should know.  

Nissan maintains its long standing leadership here. Chevrolet likewise is a popular brand with 12.4% share. Five of the top six lost some market share.

Data source: AMDA. Photos: Nissan Sentra & Chevrolet Tracker.