Mercedes-Benz has for the first time in a decade globally outsold its German rival BMW. The Stuttgart-based automaker sold a total of 483, 487 units as compared to its Baverian counterpart who moved 478,743 units in the first quarter of 2016. Volkswagen-owned Audi sold 455,750 units in the same period.
A significant chunk from the 483,487 units came from the Chinese market where the automaker saw a 36.4 per cent growth in the first quarter. It began local operations in 2014 with an LWB version of the C-Class sedan and sold 373,459 units in the first year.
Previously such large numbers were unheard of in this part of the market due to the limited number of body styles offered. However, this has changed thanks to a foray by the big German 3 into various other models like hatchbacks, sport coupes and crossovers.
