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Amid acknowledgements from AMG's global boss that the switch to four-cylinder hybrid power has 'lost' some diehard V8 customers, the true demand for the latest C63 has emerged.
The new Mercedes-AMG C63 was outsold by the BMW M3 Competition sedan by nearly 50 per cent in Australia last year after a switch from twin-turbo V8 to 500kW four-cylinder plug-in hybrid power.
Sales data obtained by Drive shows 238 new AMG C63 hybrid sedans were reported as sold in its first year of Australian deliveries, compared to 342 BMW M3 Competition xDrive sedans.
It is a far cry from claims out of Germany of "close to zero" demand for the Mercedes when the latest C63 launched in Europe 18 months ago.
But the C63 accounted for 12.2 per cent of C-Class sales in 2024 – all sedans – compared to an 18.1 per cent slice of 3 Series sedan sales for the M3 Competition xDrive four-door.
At one point in the previous V8 C63's life cycle – in 2021, when wagon, coupe and convertible bodies were also offered, but the sedan was in run-out – the V8 accounted for 20 per cent of deliveries across all body types, or about 600 cars.
The four-cylinder C63's share of sales in 2024 is similar to 2017 – two years into the previous V8's life – when 12 per cent of C-Class sedans were the performance flagship.
The same share – 12 per cent – of BMW 3 Series were also M3s at that time.
However, far higher sales of the C-Class compared to the 3 Series nearly a decade ago meant a 12 per cent share equated to about 800 annual C63 sedan and wagon sales – compared to M3 sales of 279 cars in 2015, 459 in 2016, 409 in 2017, and 414 in 2018.
It means BMW M3 sedan sales have increased slightly in eight years – as the 342 Competition xDrives sold in 2024 were joined by 57 manuals, for 399 four-doors in total – while C63 deliveries have declined by 70 per cent.
At the same time, demand for the C63 and M3's high-riding siblings – the GLC63 and X3 M/X4 M respectively – has surged.
In recent years Mercedes-Benz Australia has declined to supply model-by-model sales data for its AMG vehicles, with the four-cylinder C63 data in this story sourced from plug-in hybrid vehicle sales data released by the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI).
The historical data listed in this story for the V8 C63 was provided no more recently than 2022, before the company adopted its current policy.
The latest Mercedes-AMG C63 is sold in Australia only as an all-wheel-drive (AWD) sedan, priced from $190,900 plus on-road costs – $6000 dearer than an equivalent M3.
In contrast, BMW offers the M3 in manual rear-drive sedan, auto AWD sedan and auto AWD wagon forms, together clocking up 709 sales in 2024 – plus a further 276 M4 coupes and convertibles.
When the manual is included, 21.1 per cent of BMW 3 Series sedans is an M3 badge – and across all body types, the M3 accounts for 28.7 per cent of 3 Series sales, despite prices starting from $167,100.
Included in the total were 310 BMW M3 Touring wagons, accounting for 44 per cent of M3 sales – despite an industry trend away from wagons and towards SUVs.
It comes amid comments from AMG's global boss in recent days acknowledging the brand has "lost some customers who are just into V8s," but that buyers who test-drive the car "will be convinced of the technology".
"The C63 is a very important car in our portfolio. It used to be, it is and it will be," Mercedes-AMG CEO Michael Schiebe told the UK's Car magazine.
"We decided with the current version to really go for the latest technology. We wanted something new and that’s why we put the F1 powertrain into a street-legal car.
"We see that some of our very loyal customers struggle a bit with the concept. Of course, no doubt we have also lost some customers who are just into V8s. You need to really drive this car. It’s a very convincing product."
He acknowledged the company could have done a better job of showcasing the benefits of the complex hybrid system – capable of 500kW, up from 375kW in the V8 C63 – to hesitant customers.
"We jumped far ahead with this technology, but we should have explained the technology more to our salespeople and customers," he said.
"We will continue to do that and further improve. There is a German saying, 'You never have a second chance at a first impression.' Maybe we missed out on the first impression, but if you have the opportunity, I’m sure you will be convinced of the technology."
Mercedes-Benz Australia Pacific CEO Jaime Cohen told Drive in July 2024 that test drives of the hybrid C63 are winning over the majority of V8 customers.
"For us, the response in the end [is] they say, ‘The important thing is the performance, and the way you do that is get on it and drive it,’" he said.
"We have demos with our agents. … Some people will still perhaps let the idiosyncrasies get in the way of the performance of what they're feeling. But a lot of them come out and they say, ‘I really didn't miss the other car.’
"Some are still saying, ‘Wow, great, wonderful, but it's not a V8.’
"Well, any transition takes time, and we're breaking a paradigm here, and that always requires a little bit of convincing and time. Self-convincing by the customers. We think that's going to happen."
Australia has long ranked as one of the world's top markets for performance-car sales, both in terms of outright volume, and as a percentage of a brand's total deliveries.
A Mercedes-Benz Australia spokesperson said "AMG models are a key part of our product portfolio in Australia, reflecting strong demand for performance vehicles in this market."
The star-badged brand has previously seen AMGs account for 30 per cent of its sales, placing in the Top Five globally.
Meanwhile, Australia was the fourth-largest market for BMW M sales in 2024 – in terms of the percentage of overall BMW deliveries – behind Switzerland, NZ and Canada.
In total, 5631 BMW M cars were reported as sold locally in 2024, up 15 per cent on the prior year, and accounting for 21.4 per cent of total BMW deliveries.
Both brands offer electric performance cars alongside their petrol ones, but it is BMW's that are more popular, reporting 159 i4 M50s, 41 i5 M60s, six i7 M70s and 21 iX M60s, against nine AMG EQE53 sedans, 96 AMG EQE53 SUVs, and eight AMG EQS53 sedans.
"Technology openness, where we offer a broad range of powertrains from petrol – including our iconic straight six-cylinder engines – to electrified, is a key focus for us," Brendan Michel, Head of Product and Market Planning for BMW Group Australia, said in a media statement.
"This goes hand in hand with the availability of multiple body styles and variants across our product portfolio, including our BMW M vehicles, with the aim of providing a variety of different solutions to suit our customers’ needs and lifestyles."
Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family. Highly Commended - Young Writer of the Year 2024 (Under 30) Rising Star Journalist, 2024 Winner Scoop of The Year - 2024 Winner
