Here’s Why Mercedes-Benz Accounts For Nearly 30 Percent Of Total Vehicles Registered In Albania

The relationship between the European nation and Mercedes-Benz can be traced back to the 1940s when their communist dictator – secretly – owned one

Mercedes-Benz is one of the leading luxury brands in the world, frequently acting as a symbol of economic aspirations and success. The German marque makes a variety of models, ranging from internal combustion engined (ICE) ones to performance-oriented cars to electric vehicles. But have you ever wondered which country has the most number of Mercedes-Benz cars per capita in the world? It’s Albania, a small country in Europe, with a total population of just a little over 28 lakh.

Total Vehicles And Share Of Mercs

It was reported that Albania approximately had 7.40 lakh registered cars, of which 2.12 lakh cars are Mercedes-Benz, constituting about 29 to 30 percent of the total vehicles, in 2022. This means that almost every third or fourth car seen on Albanian roads is wearing the three-pointed star. Most of the Mercedes-Benz models seen plying on the roads or showing up in owner clubs are classic 90s sedans, including the E-Class (also known as the W124 in 80s and 90s).

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Fun fact: Even the country’s current president, Bajram Begaj, is escorted in a Mercedes-Benz S350 as part of a convoy of SUVs. However, it’s not that uncommon for country leaders these days to use a Mercedes for transit.

Related: New Gen Mercedes-Benz E-Class Interior Is A Tech Fest, Even Gets A Selfie Camera

Why So Much Love For The German Marque?

If multiple reports are to be believed, the popularity of Mercedes-Benz cars dates back to around the mid-1900s when Albania was ruled by the dictator Enver Hoxha. At the time, the communist regime forbade citizens from privately owning a car but Hoxha secretly had a few to his name. Among them, his favourite was a built-to-order 600 or W100 Pullman. Its then-price equals around two lakh Euros today or nearly Rs 1.76 crore.

When Albania returned to a democratically elected government and began opening up to capitalism in 1991, the people’s reference for well-being would have been Hoxha’s fleet comprising multiple Mercedes.

Another reason why Mercedes-Benz became a household name was because of the ability of these cars to deal with all kinds of surfaces in Albania, including bad tarmac and dirt roads. People have also cited reasons like “easy to maintain” and them being “robust” as the main factors to buy Mercedes-Benz cars. Now, it also has a strong community of fans and enthusiasts ranging from those who wish to keep their older Mercedes sedans in tip-top condition to those who love to modify them as well.

As far as the market share of the Mercedes-Benz brand in Albania is concerned, that number will inevitably shrink as the government has banned the sale of older models and most citizens cannot afford the newer ones.

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Mercedes-Benz Cars In Albania And India

To put things into perspective between our market and the Albanian market, it’s India (where it continues to be the best-selling luxury carmaker) that gets the bigger variety of Mercedes-Benz cars (we have 25 models). That said, Albania has its own advantage as well: it does have some models which aren’t on sale in India yet, such as the T-Class and the sportier CLA AMG 45 S. Common products between the two markets include the new C-Class, GLA, and the G-Class.