Audi and Mercedes battle for China sales

The battle to be the largest luxury car manufacturer in China is hotting up.

That's according to specialist publication Automotive News Europe, who report on the latest sales figures from the country.

A photo combination of an Audi (right) and Mercedes (left) at 2017 Automobile Shanghai Expo. [Photo: VCG]

These reveal that, whilst Audi was the largest luxury maker for 2017, Mercedes-Benz has held the top spot so far in 2018.

Both of the German manufacturers managed impressive annual sales gains in the world’s largest auto market.

For Mercedes-Benz, Chinese sales for the first quarter had increased by some 17 percent.

Meanwhile, for Audi, they were up by 31 percent.

BMW currently holds the position of being the third largest luxury manufacturer in China, with fellow German brand Volkswagen being the largest foreign brand overall.

Western car marques are focusing an increasing amount of attention on the importance of Chinese sales.

Notably, this has included designing a growing number of models specifically for Chinese consumers, in conjunction with local partners.

In particular, VW, Skoda, Peugeot, Citroen and Ford have all recently revealed SUVs and / or electric vehicles specifically for China.