Mercedes-Benz passenger car sales jump 9.7pc

FRANKFURT, Sept 5 (Reuters):  Daimler sold 118,887 Mercedes-Benz passenger cars in August, a 9.7 per cent improvement on the year thanks to small car sales and record deliveries in China and the United States.

Mercedes sales fell 6.2 per cent in Germany, the brand's home market, but growth of 9.4 per cent in the United States to 27,078 vehicles and of 18.3 per cent in China to 21,398 cars helped the brand achieve its highest-ever sales in August.

Demand for compact cars, which include the A-Class, B-class and CLA coupe, rose almost 30 per cent, while sales of the flagship S-class model more than doubled.

In the eight months through August, Mercedes has sold 1,032,410 vehicles, an increase of 12.3 per cent year-on-year.