Mercedes sales up 2 percent in September as Asian, US growth offsets Europe decline

BERLIN – Daimler AG says its main Mercedes-Benz brand saw global sales grow 2 percent in year-on-year terms in September as growth in the U.S. and Asia offset a decline in western Europe.

The company said Thursday Mercedes-Benz delivered 123,358 vehicles, a record for the month. Sales in the Asia-Pacific region were up 7.8 percent to 30,992, led by growth of 18 percent in Japan and 10 percent in China.

Sales in the U.S. rose 7 percent at 23,156. But deliveries in western Europe sank 2.5 percent to 55,495, a sign of the problems afflicting those countries that use the euro.

Daimler says the brand's overall sales in the third quarter were up 1.1 percent compared with a year earlier at 312,001. It says that is a record for the quarter.