Mercedes’ sales struggle to move out of first gear as China stalls

Daimler said volumes of its premium brand rose 0.9 per cent in June, translating to a cumulative rise of 6.9 per cent in the first half to a record high 652,924 vehi- cles.

“Over the next few months, the market launch of the new A-Class in particular will provide a further boost to sales. This means we are well on track this year to surpassing the 2011 sales record,” said Mercedes sales chief Joachim Schmidt.

Mr Schmidt had blamed weak sales in China relative to larger rivals BMW and Audi on temporary factors such as model changeovers and a current lack of local production.

He also said Mercedes would begin catching up to the other brands once its new large volume compact family, which includes its A and B Class models, would be rolled out in sufficient numbers.

Previously, Mercedes-Benz brand vehicle sales rose by 5.1 per cent in January, 20.3 per cent in February, 11.0 per cent in March, 3.6 per cent in April and 4.0 per cent in May.

n The German federal cartel office plans to examine more closely the alliance between General Motors, its German unit Opel, and France’s Peugeot to look at its effect on car parts suppliers.

The Phase II review could take as long as three months to complete, a spokesman for the cartel office said.

He added that a second examination was necessary since the initial one-month review was simply not long enough to study the likely effects the link-up would have on a broad number of parts suppliers.

“The Bundeskartellamt explicitly stated that the continued review process did not mean that they see any competition law issues,” a GM spokesman said, referring to the cartel office.

“The process could take as long as the end of September, but the companies will continue to fully co-operate with the authorities to allow the Bundeskartellamt to reach a decision earlier.”

GM and Peugeot had said they hoped the alliance would lead to at least $2bn in annual savings.