Mercedes Sees a New Bumper Year in China After Edging Out Audi
- Compact sedan to be built in China to compete with BMW, Audi
- Car-sharing ambitions in country need partner to make money
Daimler AG 's Maybach
Photographer: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Bloomberg
Mercedes-Benz, edging past long-time China luxury-car market leader Audi, expects another 2018 to be another bumper year in the world’s biggest auto market as consumer appetite for high-end vehicles like the E-Class sedan shows no signs of slowing.
“Significant double-digit growth” is expected for next year after a 28 percent jump in deliveries there this year through November, Hubertus Troska, who heads Mercedes parent Daimler AG’s Chinese business, told journalists at an event in Stuttgart, Germany. Adding to momentum, Mercedes will add a compact sedan, its fifth model made in the country, at its Beijing factory in 2018. The car will go head-to-head with the locally produced Audi A3 and BMW’s 1-Series and 2-Series vehicles.