FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Daimler AG (DAI) said Thursday that sales at its core Mercedes-Benz Cars division were up 17% year-on-year at 72,600 vehicles in January, fueled by rising demand in North America and Asia.
"We expect to see significant growth in the first quarter," Mercedes-Benz sales chief Joachim Schmidt said in a statement.
Demand for luxury cars collapsed towards the end of 2008 in many major markets amid the economic downturn and the market woes spilled over into 2009, causing relatively low comparative figures for last year.
Sales for the Mercedes-Benz brand soared 24% on the year last month to 67,000 cars, which more than offset a 33% slump at the Smart minicar brand to 5,600 vehicles. Daimler said it expects sales at Smart to "get a boost" from the launch of a revamped version of the two-seater vehicle in the third quarter 2010.
The new-generation Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the flagship S-Class sedan are currently driving the Stuttgart-based automaker's rebound. Global sales for the E-Class sedan doubled year-on-year last month to 13,900 cars.
"An additional boost will be provided by the full availability of the E-Class" model range including the station wagon and the convertible, Daimler said.
Sales in China, which was one of the very few bright spots for carmakers in recent months, more than doubled to 8,300 cars last month from 3,400 in January, 2009.
Demand on the company's German home turf, however, was down 18% at 9,300 cars in January.
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