Chinese auto market continues to be the best for German luxury carmakers
By Andrew C., 30 Aug, 2010. 0 Comments
tegory/automakers/mercedes-benz/">Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen AG's Audi and BMW AG's flagship BMW brand) all posted year-on-year volume gains of more than 35 percent in the China last month. Globally, BMW and Daimler sales have dropped considerably in 2009 this year while Audi has cut its sales contraction to slightly below 10%. Without their success in China , these numbers could have been more tragic. Continued after the jump!
Due to the new E-Class Sedan that nearly doubled sales to 1,700 units, Mercedes-Benz's volumes in China grew by 56% to about 6,800 vehicles last month, although it has a lower base than other German companies. It sold 1,600 units of its high-margin top-of-the-line S class, a gain of 12%. Meanwhile, SUV sales increased 73% to 1,200 vehicles. This boosted the brand's overall volumes in the first nine months by 41% to 45,400 vehicles.
There‚ no surprise then that a spokeswoman for Daimler claims that Mercedes-Benz is the fastest-growing luxury brand in China , both in September and in the three quarters since January, says Autonews. Since the Smart ForTwo minicars were launched in April, 1,200 units have been sold. On the other hand, BMW improved sales of its core brand by 35% to 7,628 vehicles in the month, and by 32 percent to 59,460 for the first nine months. Audi gained 37% in September to more than 15,000 vehicles. This helped it to easily crack the 100,000-mark through September, increasing volumes by a fifth so far this year. Compared to Mercedes or BMW, Volkswagen's luxury brand is far more heavily dependent on China for its performance. This is due to VW‚ presence in the market over the past 20 years.
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