While the three German automakers Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi in a continuous battle for the No. 1 position, which has been claimed by BMW since 2005, 2016 sales figures have seen Mercedes Benz emerge victorious claiming this spot due to an enhanced product portfolio.
Mercedes Benz sales over the past year grew 11.3% with 20,83,888 vehicles delivered to customers the world over. These sales were well over BMW total sales of 20,03,359 units, an increase of 5.2% while sales of Audi stood at 18,71,350 units, an increase of 3.8% in 2016.
Mercedes Sales 2016
Among all global markets, sales of Mercedes Benz were particularly significant in Germany, Italy, Portugal, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Taiwan, the US and Canada. The company not only grew faster than its competitors, but also sold more cars in the premium segment. The AMG brand of Mercedes Benz also noted record sales in the past year with a total of 1,00,000 units sold, an increase of 44.1%. The company now plans on retaining this spot with the latest of technologies, newer products and more efficient service being slated for the current year.
Among the more popular models were the Mercedes C Class which was once again the highest selling model with 4,25,000 units of Saloon and Estate delivered during the past year while the A and B Class, CLA, CLA Shooting Brake or GLA also drawing similar attention. China was the largest market for the C Class where the long wheelbase version is more in demand while it has also been produced particularly for this particular market. E Class Saloon and Estate were also much in demand last year even though the Estate version made its way into showrooms in September 2016 along the same time when the long wheelbase version was offered in China.
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BMW 2016 Sales
BMW Group global sales stood at 23,67,603, up 5.3% during the past year. While BMW annual sales crossed the 2 million mark for the first time, MINI and BMW Motorrad also set new sales records with MINI sales increasing 6.4% to touch 3,60,000 for the first time. While outstanding sales were noted in Mainland China with over half a million units delivered, over 1 million units were delivered across Europe. BMW X models were much in demand with a total of 6,44,992 such models sold during 2016 while the BMW 2 Series and7 Series also received a fair share of attention with 1,96,183 units and 61,514 units sold respectively. The company now gears up for launch of the BMW 5 Series in February which is set to significantly boost sales during the current year.
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Audi 2016 Sales
Audi sales in 2016 touched a new record with 1,871,350 units delivered. Global sales, which grew 3.8%, faced some hardships in some leading markets while it was the Audi A4 and Q7 models which were more in demand. The Audi A4 gained popularity in Europe while 1,00,000 units of the Audi Q7 were delivered and sales of the Audi Sport R and RS totaled 20,000 units for the first time. Audi sales in Europe were up 7.6% while in North America sales increased 5.3%. Sales across UK were up 6.4% while in China, Audi sales increased by 3.6% to 5,91,554 units with the Audi A3, Q7 and the new long wheelbase A4L noting a surge in demand.
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