The luxury German trio Mercedes, BMW and Audi have registered positive growth globally despite mainstream manufacturers struggling to push their vehicles out of showrooms. With BMW and Audi leading the charge presently, Mercedes-Benz has narrowed the sales gap with customers favouring the flagship S-Class and E-Class sedans over competition.
Mercedes-Benz’ deliveries propelled by 14 percent in April this year, compared to the same period last year; beating Audi which grew by 12 percent, while BMW grew by 8 percent during the same period. Mercedes sold almost 1,33,100 vehicles in April, while four-month deliveries climbed 15 percent to 5,07,400 units. BMW’s April sales amounted to 1,40,800 units, with four-month deliveries gaining 11 percent to 5,69,100 units. Audi’s April sales rose by 12 percent to 1,49,100 vehicles as demand for the Q3 SUV and A3 compact cars soared.
The German trio is certainly hell bent on outpacing each other and plan to have record sales for 2014, as sales in the European market is showing signs of growth. BMW Group plans to sell over 2 million vehicles for the first time this year. A major growth driver for Mercedes though has been the introduction of new products. Demand for compact vehicles jumped by 20 percent as well, as the new GLA SUV was launched in Europe in March this year.
In other markets too Mercedes has been performing well with the automaker’s biggest market United States saw a rise of 10 percent in sales, while sales in China grew by 38 percent. The growth momentum for Mercedes is most likely to continue when the C-Class goes on sale later this year. The company also has a long wheelbase version for China and a wagon version that will make its debut later this year. Mercedes will also renew the Smart city car that has been struggling with sales in Europe.
Mercedes-Benz plans to have 30 new models by the end of the decade, with an M-Class based coupe SUV, upcoming AMG GT and a host of other models in the works. BMW has also been offering new products with the 2-Series Active Tourer that went on sale in March and the 4-Series model is scheduled for an October launch. With a strong product portfolio, Mercedes has a strong opportunity to overtake Audi for the second position this year, closing in on BMW.
