Mercedes '09 China sales up 77% to 68,500 cars

Shanghai, January 12 (Gasgoo.com) Daimler AG's premium car division Mercedes-Benz said it sold a record 68,500 cars in China last year, up 77% year on year, Reuters reported today.

Mercedes-Benz, which competes with BMW among others globally, said its record sales of 68,500 cars in China last year beat its previous target of 65,000 units.

Sales of its new generation S-Class came to 15,000 units, while the C-Class model achieved total deliveries of more than 16,000 units, making it the best-selling car in the Mercedes-Benz family. Sales of the all-new E-Class model, launched in July, totaled 8,200 units.

In December alone, sales of Mercedes-Benz passenger vehicles in China hit a new monthly record of 9,350 units, while the annual growth was led by the group's locally produced C-Class cars.

"Mercedes-Benz mirrored the success of this auto industry last year and marked 2009 as our best year ever, during which China became the fourth-largest market for Mercedes-Benz in the world," said Klaus Maier, president of Mercedes-Benz China.

China sales of Volkswagen AG's Audi premier brand rose 32.9% to 158,941 units last year.