9.23.2011

Mercedes-Benz Sales Growth Slows in China


The sales environment for German luxury car brand Mercedes-Benz is turning "a bit more challenging" in China, as sales growth slowed over the summer, a senior company executiveLuxury car sales have defied a marked slowdown in the growth rate of China's overall auto market this year and have been soaring.Mercedes-Benz unit grew nearly 60% during the first half of this year.But sales growth slowed in July and AugustMercedes-Benz in China, in an interview Friday. For the first eight months of the year, Mercedes-Benz sales in China totaled 123,590, up 41% from a year earlier, The company didn't release specific Mercedes-Benz sales-growth figures in China for July or August.Mercedes-Benz's sales figures for China don't include cars sold in Hong Kong but do reflect sales of small cars from Smart, another Daimler car brand.
despite the easing growth rate, it was still difficult to determine whether China's luxury car market is shifting into lower gear.always slow sales months in China,and the company needs to see what happens to its China sales in September before it could effectively figure out "where the market is going for the rest of the year,Mercedes-Benz, cars imported from Germanyaccount for nearly 70% of the overall number of cars Mercedes-Benz sells in China. The company sold a total of 147,670 cars last year. The slowdownwas somewhat expected after a huge first half for the upscale brand. And sales are "still great" given the overall market slowdown this year, China's broader auto market has slowed in part due to sluggish sales of affordable micro-vans and other small cars, thanks to a cancellation of government incentives, among other reasons. Some industry insiders and analysts say the overall auto market in Chinawhich has been theworld's largest since 2009is expected to grow around 5% this year from a year earlier after surging about 30% in 2010 to 18 million vehicles.

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