Mercedes-Benz has managed to keep its global luxury sales crown for the 3rd consecutive year in 2018, out-selling its nearest rival BMW by nearly 200,000 vehicles.
Sales of Mercedes brand cars rose 0.9% to 2.31 million, lifted by the introduction of the new A-Class model, which helped compact-car sales account for a quarter of the brand’s annual volume. BMW brand’s volume increased 1.8% to 2.12 million, boosted by demand for its SUVs, which accounted for over a third of registrations. Third-placed Audi’s vehicle sales fell 3.5% to 1.87 million.
In China, Audi’s deliveries dropped most with a 14% fall, which parent Volkswagen Group unit blamed on model changeovers, political and economic uncertainties along with the introduction of the new WLTP testing regime. Mercedes sales were down 2.3%, while BMW’s sales declined by 0.3%.
