German luxury-auto makers see sales rally

German luxury-auto makers think their well-heeled buyers, with business fortunes and stock portfolios on the mend, are ready to return to showrooms this year.

Daimler, maker of Mercedes-Benz, says it will bounce back to growth after taking $3.5 billion in losses last year, its first loss in nine years, the Financial Times reports.

Now, the automaker says its fanciest cars will outpace sales in the market because of pent-up demand. These luxury cars were not part of last year's "cash-for-clunkers" promotion in the U.S. that buoyed U.S. mass-market sellers.

The company, which makes Mercedes-Benz cars, said yesterday that it expected upper-premium car sales to grow faster than the market because they had not benefited last year from cash-for-clunkers incentives that stimulated sales of mass-market cars.

Worldwide, Mercedes sales rose 24% in January. CEO Deiter Zetsche says the automaker, which cut is dividend, will return to profit this year.

Mercedes isn't alone in a revived German luxury market. The FT says BMW sales were up 17% last month, and Audi sales rose 39% worldwide last month.