Mercedes Group nine-month auto sales in China, Hong Kong rise 47%

BEIJING (MarketWatch) -- DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX.XE) said Wednesday its Mercedes Car Group sold 16,400 passenger vehicles in mainland China and Hong Kong in the first nine months this year, a 47% increase from the same period last year.

In mainland China alone, vehicle sales of the Mercedes group rose 58% in the January-to-September period, while sales of Chrysler Group climbed 31% from the year-earlier period, the U.S.-German auto group said in a statement Wednesday. It didn't provide specific figures.

In northeast Asia, DaimlerChrysler's retail sales of passenger cars rose 37% in the first three quarters of this year to 28,452 cars from 20,728 in the same period last year, the statement said.

"Local production of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class in Beijing, and the Chrysler Town & Country in Taiwan helped increase sales," the statement cited Till Becker, chairman and chief executive officer of DaimlerChrysler Northeast Asia, as saying.

Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler Automotive Co., or BBDC, a joint venture of the U.S.-German auto group, launched a new 210,000-square-meter manufacturing facility in September.

BBDC said at that time it will begin producing Chrysler 300C sedans, previously only imported to China, in the fourth quarter. It started producing Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Mitsubishi Outlander sedans in Beijing in late December.

In Taiwan, Mercedes Car Group sales increased 12% in the first nine months from the year-earlier period, the statement said.

Chrysler Group sales in Taiwan surged 46% in the January-to-September period, boosted by demand for Chrysler Town & Country, which is produced through a licensing agreement with Taiwan's China Motor Corp., the statement sa