A drop in the worldwide sales of the Mercedes-Benz S-Class flagship is causing parent Daimler some stress. Worldwide sales of the S-Class fell 11.9 percent in the first half of 2008. Sales were down 23 percent in the U.S. alone where Daimler has always seen a significant demand for the large luxury-sedan.

The S-Class is said to be Daimler’s most profitable model, accounts for 20 percent to 25 percent of the groups pretax profits. Sales of all Mercedes-Benz models were down for the first six-months of 2008 besides the C-Class which was up 38.4 percent.

Hoping to offset the decrease in key markets, Mercedes-Benz is shipping more fully equipped S-Class models to China and Russia, where demand for such cars is high.

Source: Automotive News Europe (Subscription Required)