Mercedes-Benz Cars sales rise 11.8 percent in October

FRANKFURT (Reuters) -- Daimler's premium Mercedes-Benz Cars division's October sales rose 11.8 percent to 114,600 units, helped by the new Mercedes-Benz C-Class sedan and the two-seat Smart minicar, it said today.

That brought sales in the first 10 months of the year to a record of nearly 1.06 million units, a gain of 1.9 percent.

Mercedes-Benz Cars, formerly called Mercedes Car Group, comprises the Mercedes-Benz, Smart and Maybach brands.

Sales at the Mercedes-Benz brand alone advanced 10.3 percent in October to 103,900 units. C-Class sales more than doubled to over 30,000 units, keeping it the global market leader in its segment, the company said.

More than 130,000 C-Class sedans have been delivered to customers since the vehicle was launched at the end of March 2007. A station-wagon version is set to maintain sales momentum.

Sales of the Smart minicar brand jumped nearly 29 percent to 10,700 units. Sales of its new two-seat model, the only model it still makes, soared 92 percent from a year earlier.

Daimler shares fell 1.6 percent to 73.08 euros by 1053 GMT, while the DJ Stoxx European car sector index retreated 1.9 percent.