German luxury brands report strong China sales in October
Each of the three major German luxury-car brands maintained double-digit sales growth in China last month, despite a slowdown in the overall market triggered by the government's decision to eliminate various sales incentives.
Audi AG, China's top-selling luxury brand, says sales jumped nearly 62 percent to 27,729 units in October, as the long-wheelbase Audi A6 generated strong demand.
BMW AG says sales of the BMW and Mini brands jumped nearly 34 percent in October year-on-year to 18,346 units.
And Daimler AG says sales of its Mercedes and Smart brands rose nearly 23 percent to 16,539 units.
In the battle for market share, all three luxury brands resorted to price-cutting this fall.
Last month, Bloomberg News reported that BMW dealerships in Beijing offered markdowns of as much as 19 percent on a 3-series car,
Likewise, some Mercedes dealers sold the C-class Elegance model at 20 percent less than the suggested retail price, according to cheshi.com, a pricing guide tracking more than 3,000 dealers in the country.
