China Can't Get Enough Of German Luxury

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

China is currently in a state of confusion about August sales numbers: More than 50 percent up? Or less than 20 percent? It will take a week or so to sort that out. But one thing is clear: The big winners in China are German purveyors of luxobarges, says Reuters.

  • Audi’s sales jumped by two-thirds to 22,350 units, bringing the total for the past eight months to nearly 152,800, a year-to-date gain of 63 percent. China is now officially Audi’s largest market. In Germany, Audi sold 144,365 units through August. And that was a performance much better than most of the other brands.
  • Daimler’s sales in China more than doubled in August to 13,400. Year-to-date, they sold 88,500, up 129 percent.

BMW numbers are not out yet, but they should be similarly nice. German car exports continue to rise, buoyed by the soft Euro. German automakers exported 252,200 cars last month, a 12 percent increase compared with August 2009, reports AP. Germans bought 235,640 cars at home in August. More than half of Germany’s auto production is being shipped abroad. An ever increasing number goes to China. Not the cheap ones. They produce those at home.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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