JULY 5, 2010, 10:08 A.M. ET.

Mercedes-Benz Sales Rise 13%

BERLIN—Sales of Mercedes-Benz cars rose 13% in June as strong demand for the premium brand in China and the U.S. helped drive growth, parent company Daimler AG said Monday.

Mercedes-Benz sold 113,300 cars world-wide last month, making it the best June performance in its history, Daimler said. Mercedes-Benz's world-wide sales for the first six months of 2010 were up 15% from a year earlier at 556,700 cars.

The premium brand's sales in China jumped to 13,700 cars from just 4,900 last June; U.S. sales were up 201% at 18,300, and sales in Japan gained 27% compared with June last year to reach 3,400.

There also was strong growth in Brazil, Russia and India: Daimler reported sales increases of more than 70% in all three of the emerging markets. However, sales in Western Europe were down 3.6% at 58,100.

Mercedes-Benz Cars executive Joachim Schmidt said the annual increase in June was the eighth time in a row that sales rose by a double-digit percentage. "We are also in an excellent position to do well in the months ahead and plan to continue Mercedes-Benz's success with a significant increase in the third quarter," Mr. Schmidt said in a statement.

Total sales at the Mercedes-Benz cars division, which also includes the ultracompact Smart car, were up 11% in June and 12% for the year's first half.

Smart sales fell 13% to 9,600 in June and 17% to 50,700 for the first half. However, the company said it expects a new model to be presented later this month to boost sales.

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