Sirius XM Holdings Inc (SIRI)

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Daimler Predicts Deliveries Will Grow ‘Significantly’
By Chris Reiter

Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG, the world’s second- largest maker of luxury cars, said the Mercedes-Benz Cars unit’s fourth-quarter sales will rise “significantly” following the biggest gain in monthly deliveries this year.
Demand for Mercedes-Benz E- and S-Class sedans boosted sales 16 percent in November to 98,400 cars and sport-utility vehicles from 84,500 a year earlier, the Stuttgart, Germany- based company said today in a statement.
“We further expanded our position and gained additional market share,” Joachim Schmidt, head of sales for Mercedes, said in the statement. An E-Class station wagon that arrived in showrooms on Nov. 21 is “a big hit” with customers and will provide “additional sales momentum.”
Daimler is targeting savings of as much as 5 billion euros ($7.4 billion) this year as it seeks to recover from the worst auto-industry crisis in decades. Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche aims to boost Mercedes-Benz’s profit by introducing small cars and cleaner engines faster than competitors.
Deliveries of the full-sized E-Class sedan, which was updated earlier this year and will face tougher competition next year when Bayerische Motoren Werke AG introduces a new version of its 5 Series model, doubled to 15,700. The top-end S-Class posted a gain of 35 percent to 5,500 vehicles. Sales of the Smart minicar fell 3.8 percent in November to 9,800.
‘Start Tumbling’
“It is striking that only models that are basically brand- new sell better than average,” said Hans-Peter Wodniok, a Frankfurt-based analyst at Fairesearch. “New models have growing sales for 12 to a maximum of 24 months, than they start tumbling.”
The C-Class, the best-selling Mercedes-Benz model, recorded a 6 percent increase in sales, two years after its 2007 launch. CEO Zetsche addressed workers today at a factory in Sindelfingen, Germany, where workers have been protesting against plans to shift production of the model to other plants, including one in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
Zetsche said he wouldn’t fire anyone as a result of the move and agreed to continue assembling E- and S-Class models at the site, which is Mercedes-Benz’s largest factory. Employees affected by the C-Class move in 2014 could be engaged in assembling seats as well as components for hybrid vehicles, which combine conventional engines with electric motors.
Eleven-month group sales declined 12 percent to 1.16 million vehicles as the global recession hurt demand earlier this year. Mercedes-Benz Cars’ monthly deliveries rose for the first time this year in October.
Mercedes-Benz sales in China almost tripled to 8,700 vehicles, surpassing growth at BMW, the world’s largest maker of luxury cars. The Munich-based manufacturer of BMW and Mini vehicles sold 8,470 cars last month in China, said Markus Sagemann, a spokesman.
To contact the reporter on this story: Chris Reiter in Berlin at [e-mail]
Last Updated: December 7, 2009 09:27 EST


http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aySaktOas_HQ

SIRIUS Traffic Available on Model Year 2010 Mercedes-Benz Vehicles / SIRIUS Traffic expected to be installed in 70% of Mercedes-Benz Model Year 2010 Vehicles



MONTVALE, N.J. and NEW YORK, Dec. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mercedes-Benz USA and SIRIUS XM Radio today announced that SIRIUS Traffic is available on all Mercedes-Benz 2010 Model Year vehicles equipped with navigation and SIRIUS satellite radio.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080819/NYTU044LOGO )

SIRIUS Traffic is expected to be installed in 70% of the Mercedes-Benz Model Year 2010 lineup, and will be standard on the S-Class, CL-Class, CLS-Class and G-Class models.

SIRIUS Traffic comes pre-activated with a six-month trial subscription for Mercedes-Benz customers along with a six-month trial subscription of the "SIRIUS Everything" satellite radio package.

SIRIUS Traffic provides traffic speed and flow information to vehicles over SIRIUS' nationwide satellite radio network. SIRIUS Traffic also provides information on traffic incidents, scheduled road closings and road construction. Since SIRIUS Traffic is integrated with the vehicle's navigation system, the service assists drivers in picking the quickest, safest routes based on real-time traffic conditions.

"SIRIUS Traffic will benefit Mercedes-Benz drivers with traffic information to help them navigate through our country's major roadways," said Sascha Simon, Department Manager, Advanced Product Planning, MBUSA. "We are pleased to add this service to SIRIUS' audio entertainment in Mercedes-Benz vehicles."

"Mercedes-Benz is a renowned brand, famous for its exceptional performance and technology," said Steve Cook, Group Vice President and General Manager, Automotive Division, SIRIUS XM Radio. "SIRIUS XM is thrilled to make the SIRIUS Traffic service available on new 2010 Mercedes-Benz vehicles."

For information on SIRIUS XM Radio and SIRIUS Traffic, please visit http://www.sirius.com/traffic.

About Mercedes-Benz USA

Mercedes-Benz USA, headquartered in Montvale, New Jersey, is responsible for the sales, marketing and customer service for all Mercedes-Benz and Maybach products in the United States. For more than 40 years, MBUSA has taken pride in its commitment to the customer by providing superior quality luxury vehicles coupled with outstanding customer support. More information on MBUSA and its products can be found at http://www.mbusa.com/ and http://www.maybachusa.com/.

About SIRIUS XM Radio

SIRIUS XM Radio is America's satellite radio company delivering to subscribers commercial-free music channels, premier sports, news, talk, entertainment, and traffic and weather.

SIRIUS XM Radio has content relationships with an array of personalities and artists, including Howard Stern, Martha Stewart, Oprah Winfrey, Rosie O'Donnell, Jamie Foxx, Barbara Walters, Opie&Anthony, Bubba the Love Sponge®, Bob Edwards, Chris "Mad Dog" Russo, Jimmy Buffett, The Grateful Dead, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Tom Petty. SIRIUS XM Radio is the leader in sports programming as the Official Satellite Radio Partner of the NFL, Major League Baseball®, NASCAR®, NBA, NHL®, and PGA TOUR® and major college sports.

SIRIUS XM Radio has arrangements with every major automaker. SIRIUS XM Radio products are available at shop.sirius.com and shop.xmradio.com, and at retail locations nationwide, including Best Buy, RadioShack, Wal-Mart and independent retailers.

SIRIUS XM Radio also offers SIRIUS Backseat TV, the first ever live in-vehicle rear seat entertainment featuring Nickelodeon, Disney Channel and Cartoon Network; XM NavTraffic® service for GPS navigation systems delivers real-time traffic information, including accidents and road construction, for more than 80 North American markets.