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Mercedes pulls ahead of Audi in race to top BMW sales

Reuters
A Mercedes-Benz logo is seen on S500 car at the company's vehicle assembly plant in Chakan, outside Pune, India, June 11, 2015. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Strong China sales helped push Daimler's (DAIGn.DE) Mercedes-Benz ahead of arch rival Audi (NSUG.DE) in global luxury vehicle sales last year, even as BMW (BMWG.DE), which is due to release 2015 sales figures on Monday, is expected to retain the title.

Mercedes sales rose 13.4 percent to 1,871,511 cars, compared with a 3.6 percent jump to 1,803,250 luxury vehicles sold by Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) subsidiary Audi last year, figures on released on Friday show.

Both carmakers posted record sales in 2015, but Mercedes saw stronger growth in China, the world's largest car market, where its deliveries jumped 32.6 percent to 373,459 vehicles.

Daimler has benefited from surging demand for its new C-Class mid sized limousine, which saw sales jump of 40.1 percent to 443,909 cars last year.

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The C-Class has been in showrooms since March 2014, but the start of production of a long-wheelbase version in China in July 2014 has added further momentum to the Stuttgart-based carmaker's fortunes in the region.

The launch of a new E-Class is expected to add further momentum, Daimler said.

"We anticipate additional sales impetus in 2016 from the new E-Class," Ola Kaellenius, board member for Mercedes-Benz sales, said in a statement.

Mercedes is due to present the new E-Class at the Detroit auto show next week.

In contrast, Audi's China sales slumped 1.4 percent last year, to 570,889 cars. Volkswagen's flagship division is readying a lighter and more fuel-efficient version of the A4, which last year added a fifth to Audi's global output.

In recent months Audi and parent company Volkswagen have been embroiled in a scandal over manipulated engines.

In 2014, BMW sold 1.81 million BMW-branded cars, while rival Audi took second place, delivering 1.74 million vehicles. Mercedes-Benz lagged behind with a mere 1.65 million luxury cars sold in 2014. BMW has held the global luxury sales crown since 2005.

(Reporting by Edward Taylor; Editing by Katharine Houreld)