Mercedes-Benz, which competes with BMW globally, said in a statement that it sold more than 5,100 cars in China in June.

 

Sales, including its Smart minicar launched in the country in April, totalled 27,000 units in the first six months of the year, up 50 percent from a year earlier, it said.

 

Car sales in China, the world's largest vehicle market, rebounded strongly from an all-time low in 2008, bolstered mostly by a raft of government policy initiatives, including aggressive cuts in sales tax for small cars and rebates for buyers in rural areas.