The German luxury car brands Audi, Mercedes Benz, and BMW were the best-sellers in the first half of the year. (Mercedes Benz) German automakers Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz maintained their lead as the top performers in China’s luxury car market in the first half of 2014 as Mercedes-Benz continues to try to play catch-up to its two main rivals. Now that the sales results are in for all the major luxury players, Chinese auto news site Gasgoo has compiled a series of charts to show what the market is looking like this year. The German top three brands enjoyed a big lead over their runner-ups, which include Jaguar Land Rover, Lexus, Volvo, Cadillac, Porsche, and Infiniti; the elite trio was responsible for nearly 75 percent of all luxury automobiles sold in the country over the six-month time period. Audi led with a 31.7 percent market share, while BMW followed closely with 26.6 percent and competitor Mercedes-Benz lagged behind with 16 percent of the market. While German brands had the biggest market share, Infiniti, Cadillac, and Jaguar Land Rover sales increased the most in the first half of 2014. Infiniti saw a stunning 130 percent sales growth rate, while Cadillac’s sales grew by 71.7 percent and Jaguar Land Rover sales rose by 49.5 percent. The importance of the China market to luxury car brands’ overall sales increased this year across nearly all brands. For example, China comprised 13.8 percent of Infiniti’s global sales, a jump from 7.8 percent last year—the biggest increase of all luxury car brands in the country. Only Porsche’s China market contribution to global sales remained the same from last year at 22.5 percent.
