Transport News - Sales Report of Best Luxurious Cars

German luxury automobile manufacturers BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi have all managed to sustain strong sales growth in China over the first three months of the year.



According to a report appearing in the Guangzhou Daily today, Chinese sales of BMW and Mini cars in the first quarter totaled 80,014 units, a 37 percent increase from 2011. A total of 30,593 vehicles were sold last month, growing 41.1 percent from last March and setting a new monthly record. 75,008 BMWs were sold in the first quarter. Sales of the 7 Series grew nearly 40 percent, while the X series of SUVs saw their sales grow a full 92 percent, with over 20,000 units sold. Meanwhile, Mini sales totaled 5,006 units, 32 percent higher than first quarter of 2011. Over 4,000 BMWs and minis were sold in Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, combined.



FAW Volkswagen Audi's sales totaled 89,475 units in the first quarter of the year, a 41 percent increase from 2011. The joint venture sold 31,245 Audis in March alone, equivalent to a year-on-year increase of 37.8 percent. It's three major domestically manufactured models, the A6L, A4L and Q5, managed to bring in 25,237 orders in the month. Among them, sales of the Q5 SUV totaled 7,802 units, growing 155 percent from the previous year. The JV sold over 6,000 imported Audis during the month. A total of 346,100 Audis were sold worldwide in the first quarter of the year.

A total of 19,080 Mercedes-Benz, Smart, AMG and Maybach vehicles were sold last month, while quarterly sales totaled 54,720 units. Mercedes' flagship S-Class managed to bring in 3,420 and 13,400 orders in March and the first quarter, respectively. Sales of the domestically manufactured long-wheelbase E-Class and C-Class grew 36.4 percent in the first quarter. Smart car sales in March and the first quarter totaled 1,860 and 4,760 units, respectively.

European Car Market Slipped in 2011

The European car market fell by 1.4% to 13.6 million vehicles in 2011, marking the fourth-consecutive annual decline and the outlook for this year looks bleak as tough austerity measures are expected to eat into demand.

“In 2011, most of the significant markets declined,” the European automobile manufacturers association, or ACEA, said Tuesday in a statement.

The French market dwindled by 2.1%, the U.K.’s fell 4.4%, while new-car registrations in Italy contracted by 10.9% and in Spain by 18% year-to-year, reflecting the region’s economic woes, particularly in Southern Europe, ACEA said.

Still, Germany—Europe’s largest car market—posted an 8.8% increase compared to 2010, backed by a more robust economy and better consumer confidence. There was a similar divide between car categories, with makers of luxury cars faring better than mass-market manufacturers. Registrations for BMW AG rose by 7.7% last year to 810,199 cars in Europe, helped by a 19% rise at its Mini brand. German rival Daimler AG’s market share in Europe was flat year-to-year as it eked out a 0.4% rise to 671,480 cars in 2011. Volkswagen, Europe’s largest car maker by sales, posted a 7.8% rise in new-car registrations to 3.17 million vehicles, driven by its luxury Audi brand as well as its VW and Skoda brands.

Thanks: http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/