Mercedes-Benz enjoys record sales, thanks to US

[January 05, 2013]  FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- Daimler AG's luxury brand Mercedes saw record sales in 2012 after posting double digit gains in the United States.

But sales lagged in its home market in Germany and rose only a little in China.

The company said Friday that Mercedes sold 1,320,097 vehicles, up 4.7 percent and the best ever. U.S. sales rose 11.8 percent.

But German sales fell 0.4 percent, and Western Europe rose a bare 0.6 percent for the year. The continent's debt crisis has hurt the economy, especially in southern European countries such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece.

Chinese sales rose only a modest 1.5 percent.

[Associated Press]

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