Beijing - German-US automaker DaimlerChrysler on Thursday said first-quarter sales of its passenger vehicles rose 13 per cent in its North-East Asia region, following a pattern of large sales increases in China by other manufacturers over the same period. DaimlerChrysler sold 12,861 passenger cars from January to March in the region - which includes Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and South Korea - compared with 11,390 cars in the same period of 2006, the company said.
"We continue to see strong sales momentum in the region, led by high demand for our flagship products, like the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and the Chrysler 300C," DaimlerChrysler North-East Asia chairman Ulrich Walker said in a statement.
The group sold 6,800 Mercedes cars in mainland China and Hong Kong in the first quarter, up 16 per cent from 2006. They included 3,000 S-Class cars.
Total sales of DaimlerChrysler cars in mainland China reached 9,280, a rise of 10 per cent from the first quarter of 2006.
"With the rapid growth of affluence in China and increasing desire for individuality and personal expressiveness, we are bringing the most dynamic Mercedes-Benz vehicles to the most dynamic market in the world," Walker said.
Sales of Chrysler cars rose 6 per cent in the region with a new marketing drive planned in China this year, the company said.
US-based auto giant Ford on Wednesday reported a rise of 16.4 per cent in vehicle sales in China for the first three months of 2007.
Germany's Volkswagen last week reported a 23-per-cent increase to 202,623 vehicles sold in China and Hong Kong in the first quarter.
