“ in New York City . More than 80 percent of the 300SL ’ s total production of approximately 1400 units were sold in the US , making it the first Mercedes-Benz widely successful outside its home market . So significant was the Gullwing ’ s impact , the model is now credited with changing the image of Mercedes- Benz in the US from a manufacturer
For all the plants , there ’ s a central MBAG sales team that moves all the cars
“ built in Europe to markets throughout the world of solid but staid luxury automobiles , to one capable of producing highperformance sports cars .
Unique position
Buoyed by the success of the Gullwing , by 1957 , Mercedes-Benz was in a position to expand its reach across the US . The company entered into an initial distribution agreement with Studebaker-Packard Corporation , before striking out on its own eight years later , with the formation of Mercedes-Benz USA ( MBUSA ). Now a wholly owned subsidiary of MBAG , MBUSA is a nationwide organization , responsible for the distribution , marketing , and customer service for all Mercedes- Benz passenger and commercial van products in the US .
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