Premium brands defy downward trend to report steady market growth

Premium brands from BMW to Lexus have maintained growth momentum in China, defying the overall downward trend dominating China's passenger car market for the past 14 months.

BMW topped the list of premium carmakers that saw positive growth in September, with 63,083 vehicles delivered in China, up 5.8 percent from the same month last year.

It sold a record of 526,017 vehicles in the country from January to September, up 14.4 percent year-on-year.

BMW China said in a statement that the results are attributed to its growing lineup as well as branding and localized innovation.

The carmaker is introducing 21 new BMW models into the Chinese market this year. If coupled with new models from other brands in the group, total launches could reach 25.

In the first nine months of the year, the group grew its worldwide sales by 1.7 percent to 1.87 million.

Mercedes-Benz followed closely behind BMW in China, the largest market for both of them, in September sales.

It delivered 61,664 cars in September, up 12.9 percent from the same month in 2018, and 525,890 units from January to September, an increase of 5 percent year-on-year.

The Stuttgart-based carmaker said the past three months were the best quarter ever in China with 181,233 units sold. Globally, it delivered 1.73 million vehicles from January to September, up 0.6 percent year-on-year.

"In the year-end spurt, we want to further consolidate our ambition to remain the world's leading premium automobile brand," said Britta Seeger, a Daimler board member responsible for Mercedes-Benz's marketing and sales.

"Despite the highly competitive environment, we assume that Mercedes-Benz retail unit sales will increase slightly in the full year," said Seeger.

Audi's sales in China slipped 3.3 percent in September to 63,593, but its total sales in the first nine months went up 1.7 percent year-on-year to 491,040.

Porsche has maintained its growth momentum, with 64,237 vehicles delivered to Chinese customers in the first nine months, representing an increase of 14 percent year-on-year.

"The growth in China and the US makes us positive about achieving our overall targets for the year," says Detlev von Platen, Porsche's board member for sales and marketing.

"In the medium term, there are signs of slight weakening in overall growth, however. We will monitor this closely and nevertheless remain optimistic going forward."

Toyota's premium brand Lexus sold 17,736 vehicles last month in China, up 10.2 percent year-on-year. Its sales for the first nine months totaled 144,590 units, an increase of 22.8 percent from the same period last year.

The brand has a sales goal of 200,000 vehicles in China this year. GM's Cadillac had a record third quarter, with sales increasing 11 percent from a year earlier to 51,049 units, and Volvo said its China sales increased 13 percent year-on-year to 14,920 in September.

Through the first three quarters, Volvo's deliveries in the country rose 14 percent year-on-year to 109,512.