Mercedes-Benz starts new year with strong sales

German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz started the new year with a record strong sales in January, driven by robust demands from China, data showed on Wednesday. Globally, Mercedes-Benz delivered a total of 109,477 vehicles in January. This was 15.4 percent higher than in the previous year, the company said in a statement. Chinese market contributed the most as a single country to the record sales with a delivery of 24,199 unites, 44.9 percent more than in January 2013. In United States, the three-pointed star brand sold 22,604 vehicles, with a year-on-year growth of 0.5 percent. In its home market of Europe, Mercedes-Benz sales increased by 5.9 percent to 40,830 cars. In Germany, the brand delivered 13,595 vehicles and gained a market share of 9.2 percent. "After the record year in 2013 we are starting into another year of growth with strong products," said Ola Kallenius, Member of the Divisional Board Mercedes-Benz Cars responsible for marketing and sales. Last year, Mercedes-Benz sold a total of 1.46 million autos around the world, falling behind its main rival Audi, which delivered over 1.57 million units.