Mercedes’ taxi sales in Germany dropped 71% from January to August compared to 2023. The brand’s market share has plummeted from 52% in 2019 to just 18% today. The automaker is not interested in offering factory-conversions as the taxi market is too small. In many European countries, including Germany, the stereotypical image of a taxi has long been a Mercedes-Benz sedan. However, this perception has drastically shifted in recent years, with Mercedes’ dominance in the taxi market quickly fading.
Even Toyota now sells more taxis than Mercedes in Germany, with special versions of the Corolla and the RAV4. Just a single new Mercedes B-Class taxi was registered in Germany between January and August 2024 In 1896, Daimler invented the modern taxi by being the first company to equip a motor carriage with a taximeter. Until the late 2010s, Mercedes proudly emphasized its traditional partnership with the taxi industry.