German carmakers boost sales

Reservations about the health of the world's second-largest economy drove many Chinese people to hold off buying a premium new German car in the first half of 2015, Audi, BMW and Mercedes said Friday after releasing their most recent sales figures.

But that didn't stop the companies from logging record-high sales from January to June this year.

Audi was particularly troubled by waning demand in the People's Republic, which was likely due to a combination of anti-corruption measures and recent stock market turbulence that saw shares shed nearly a third of their value within a month before regaining some ground.

The Ingolstadt-based manufacturer saw sales drop 5.8 percent in June, following another dip in May. In the period from January to June, however, Audi moved a total of 274,000 vehicles in China - enough to maintain its status as China's No. 1 luxury car brand.

"So far, 2015 has been a challenging year for us," said Audi chief Luca de Meo. "Many markets have become more difficult, especially in Asia and Eastern Europe."

But Audi said its global sales for the first six months of the year had reached 902,400 vehicles - a record sum for the maker of the popular A4 sedan.

BMW also recorded a 0.1 percent drop in June sales in China, but they were still able to sell 230,000 cars and sports utility vehicles there in Q1 and Q2. The Munich-based carmaker's global sales topped 1.1 million.

Mercedes had the most successful first six months of the year in terms of growth. It was able to increase its sales by 22 percent from January to June, moving some 165,000 units.

cjc/pad (dpa, Reuters)