BMW, Daimler say luxury-car sales may recover on new models

Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) AG and Daimler AG, the world's two biggest luxury-car manufacturers, said sales may recover in coming months as they add models and the global recession wanes.

Deliveries at Munich-based BMW last month fell 9.7 percent to 91,790, led by an 11 percent drop at the namesake brand, it said in a statement today. Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Cars unit reported a 13 percent decline to 73,200 sales, including a 24 percent slide for the Smart brand.

"We expect sales to be on a higher level in the coming months," Klaus Maier, head of sales and marketing at Mercedes, said in a statement. The introduction of the E-Class station wagon and new-version S-Class sedan will spur demand, he said.

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Sept. 3 that the world's leading industrialized economies will achieve a "modest" recovery. Bundesbank President Axel Weber predicted on Sept. 4 that the Germany economy "will again signal a strong pickup" in the third quarter after returning to growth in the second. Car sales in China surged a record 90 percent last month because of government incentives to buy.

BMW's domestic sales increased 3.5 percent in August, helped by a 20 percent gain for the Mini brand. Chinese deliveries rose 63 percent and the new-version 7-Series sedan attracted 21 percent more customers worldwide.

Mercedes-Benz suffered a 26 percent drop in west-European deliveries, including a 34 percent slide in Germany. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region rose 17 percent, boosted by a 52 percent increase in China.

Volkswagen AG's luxury Audi division reported a 2.7 percent drop in global deliveries, led by declines of 16 percent in its home German market and 14 percent elsewhere in Europe. Audi said it's "certain" to reach a sales target of 900,000 vehicles for this year because of gains in Asia and the U.S.