Mercedes-Benz Vans Middle East and North Africa (Mena) was recognised with first place at the Daimler AG’s Van overseas markets - Market of the Year Award, for its outstanding sales achievement last year.

Covering nine regions including Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America and South East Asia, the award compares 2017 to 2016 taking into consideration as a primary focus sales growth and performance in both retail and group sales, said a statement from the company.

Regional success for Mercedes-Benz Vans Mena comes alongside global records for unit sales and revenue in 2017. Daimler AG’s van division handed over a total of approximately 401,000 vans and multipurpose vehicles to its customers in 2017, compared to 359,100 in 2016, it said.

The regional centre was also awarded second place, amongst 116 markets, in after sales for the fastest performance development in parts sales and service, compared to the same period in 2016, it added.

In 2017, Mercedes-Benz Vans Mena recorded outstanding sales growth of close to 100 per cent, with all model series in the region contributing to this growth with best-ever figures. Growth was notably driven by the mid-size segment with the Vito van and the V-Class multipurpose vehicle delivering record numbers, it stated.

The Vito – the versatile mid-size van offering maximum benefit, low operational cost, high levels of safety and payload – recorded the highest sales growth of 2017, with retail sales tripling when compared to the previous year.

The V-Class is also exceeding expectations since its official launch in 2016 and continues to be very popular with regional customers due to its combination of exceptional functionality with high-class appeal, recording a 70 per cent increase in retail sales compared to the previous year.

In the last full year before the model change, the Mercedes-Benz Sprinter confirmed its reputation as one of the most successful commercial vehicles of all time and as the bestseller from Mercedes-Benz Vans Mena in 2017 with sales growing by 64 per cent. The Sprinter established the large-van segment in 1995 and has defined it, both globally and regionally ever since.

Thomas Greipel, general manager, Mercedes Benz Vans Mena, said: “Achieving the award represents an exceptional performance by our regional team and partners.”

“We have great expectations for this year, from our viewpoint the most important market launch in the van segment is coming soon with the new Sprinter,” he said.

Volker Meinecke, head of Mercedes-Benz Vans customer service and parts – sales development, overseas, said: “We have a new organisational set-up in the Middle East live since 2017 with dedicated van after-sales personnel.”

“The team accomplished various projects throughout the year with immense success, which resulted in this top performance in 2017. Thank you to the team for the great dedication and result. We are looking forward to future success,” he added. – TradeArabia News Service