Mercedes

On Friday, it was revealed that sales of the Mercedes-Benz brand increased by 8 percent in June due to strong demand for their compact line of vehicles. The European car manufacturer moved 142,136 vehicles in the month of June, up from previous years.

The company saw an increase of 13 percent in their six month deliveries. This increased their sales to 783,520, marking the highest first half year sales ever achieved by Mercedes. Mercedes sales boss Ola Kaellenius stated, 'With the unit sales of our vehicles, we are on track to make 2014 into another record year.'

The most substantial increase seen by the company was in their compact vehicles. Demand for compact Mercedes vehicles rose by a staggering 24 percent in the first half of the year. The company sold 215,205 compact vehicles, accounting for more than a quarter of their first half yearly sales. Mercedes are planning to extend their four car compact range next year with the CLA shooting brake.

Mercedes are also predicting the momentum to continue well into the second half of the year. The company are planning to release the next-generation C class of vehicles. This line has been the most successful model for the company. The next generation C class vehicles are set to release in North American and Chinese markets September this year.

The growth of the Mercedes brand appears to have no limits if these sales figures indicate anything. Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche is predicting Mercedes to surpass both Audi and BMW in worldwide sales by 2020. This would make Mercedes-Benz the world's largest luxury care manufacturer.

Currently, they aren't trailing that far behind the competition and given the year on year growth seen by the company, it's no surprise that Mercedes are predicted to pass both Audi and BMW. In 2013, Mercedes sold approximately 1.46 million vehicles worldwide. Audi and BMW moved 1.58 and 1.66 million vehicles worldwide respectively.