Mercedes-Benz car sales in Greater China rose 54% for the January to September period this year to overtake Japan and total 32,400 passenger cars, boosted by higher demand for the S-Class sedans. In comparison, Benz sales in the US increased 8.4% to 195,500 units while Japan’s sales fell 9.8% for the corresponding period to 30,300 cars sold.

The German auto maker has already surpassed last year’s China sales of 30,630 cars, which was an increase of nearly 50% from 2006.

The Chinese luxury and premium car segment has regularly outpaced the growth rate of the overall passenger car market over the past few years. Ferrari sales in China rose 25% while Lamborghini reported 60% increase. BMW sales in Mainland China reached 47,342 cars in the first 3 quarters of this year, reflecting a year-on-year increase of 30.4%.

The world’s second largest vehicle market reported 751,500 cars sold nationwide in September, up 19.48% from the previous month but was a decline of 2.74% from the same month of last year, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers.

China sales for Mercedes-Benz in August and September were higher than last year and the potential of the Chinese market will be significant amidst a slowdown in the global auto industry. Daimler AG expects vehicle sales to grow in the October to December period from last year and expansion plans will proceed despite the current financial turmoil.

In India, Mercedes-Benz has sold more than 3000 cars from January to September 2008, representing a growth of 56% over the same period last year. BMW sold 2028 cars in the first eight months this year.

India’s Punjab state remains one of the top three sellers of Mercedes for the last ten years and contributes 7.5% to 8.2% to total revenue. While acknowledging the importance of Delhi and Mumbai, Mercedes-Benz also highlighted upcoming markets like Hyderabad, Chennai and Bangalore. There is also growing demand from cities such as Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Madurai.