FRANKFURT -- China continued to offer some relief for the world's biggest luxury-car makers in September, with sales soaring from a year earlier, driven by new models and a robust economy bolstered by stimulus packages.
BMW AG, Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz brand and Volkswagen AG's Audi nameplate are racing to increase their footprints in China in order to benefit from the market's growth potential and reduce their reliance on sales in Western Europe and the U.S.
Audi's sales in China rose 37% in September from a year earlier to more than 15,000 cars, marking a new record level in terms of monthly vehicle sales, the Ingolstadt, Germany-based auto maker said.
In the January-to-September period, Audi's sales totaled 108,859 vehicles in China, up 20% from a year earlier.
Munich-based BMW, the world's largest luxury-car maker by sales, posted sales of 7,628 cars for its core brand in China last month, up 35% from a year earlier, a spokesman said. In the first nine months of the year, sales for the BMW brand rose 32% from a year earlier to 59,460 cars.
The Mercedes-Benz brand narrowed the gap last month with 6,800 cars sold in China, an increase of 56% on the year. The higher monthly growth rate than its rivals mainly was due to strong demand for the revamped E-Class and flagship S-Class models, a company spokeswoman said.
The Stuttgart, Germany-based auto maker has sold 45,400 cars in China year-to-date, representing an increase of 41% compared with 2008.
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