With the world's major auto markets still in a slump, luxury auto brands were doing well in China, with Mercedes Benz, BMW and Audi all achieving double-digit growth in the first half.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM), Mercedes Benz sold 27,000 vehicles in the first six months on the mainland, up 50 percent over the first half last year.

Sales of Audi rose 28 percent year-on-year to 13,077 last month, making it the firm's best June in China on record. Audi sold 66,131 units in the first half, up 10.4 percent year on year, taking up 40 percent of the luxury car market.

In June, sales of BMW series and Mini series rose 44 percent to 8,506 units in China compared with the same month last year. The sales of BMW and Mini combined grew 24 percent to 37,627 units in the first half.

China's overall auto production in June was 1,153,100 units and sales were 1,142,100 units, up 37.73 percent and 36.48 percent respectively over the same period last year.

Dong Yang, administrative vice-chairman of the CAAM, said last week that the association had raised the country's auto output forecast for 2009 from 10.2 million units to 11 million units.

(Xinhua News Agency July 14, 2009)