BMW, Mercedes see strong September sales

[NINETY EIGHT REGENCY]

BMW, Mercedes see strong September sales

Associated Press

Berlin — Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz and BMW AG today reported annual sales growth of well over 10 percent, with both automakers' deliveries in China soaring.

Mercedes-Benz sold 118,600 cars worldwide last month, an increase of 13 percent compared with a year earlier and the best September sales result in its history, Daimler said.

Global sales at the BMW Group, which includes the core BMW brand, Mini and Rolls-Royce, were up 16.8 percent at 142,950. BMW said growth was driven by its large models, with the 5 series sedan showing the strongest gains.

Mercedes-Benz's sales in China were up 98 percent to 13,500. Sales and marketing executive Joachim Schmidt said the company has now surpassed its original 2010 sales target of 100,000 cars there and has raised it to over 120,000.

U.S. deliveries rose 16.9 percent to 19,900 and western European sales edged up 1.1 percent to 60,800.

BMW said its group sales in China were up 89.1 percent year-on-year last month, with 15,379 vehicles sold. It reported healthy growth of 20.5 percent in the United States, where it delivered 23,112 vehicles.

Separately, Daimler said global sales of its two-seat Smart car showed their first annual growth this year as a new model arrived. They were up 7.4 percent at 10,100.

From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20101008/AUTO01/10080421/1148/auto01/BMW--Mercedes-see-strong-September-sales#ixzz11mG27ZY1