Asia, US sales push Mercedes to record month

FRANKFURT: Daimler AG says its mainstay Mercedes-Benz luxury brand recorded the best monthly sales figures in its history in March despite weak car markets in western Europe.

The company, based in Stuttgart, said Friday it delivered 139,920 Mercedes vehicles, up 6.5 per cent from the same month a year earlier.

Sales rose 10.5 per cent in the Asia-Pacific region and 6.5 per cent in the US But they fell 2.5 per cent in the company's home market in Germany. Western Europe sales rose only 2.5 per cent, a token of the recession in the 17-country euro currency union.