German luxury carmakers limit year-end shutdowns as China demand holds up

Updated: 2011-12-12 10:50

(chinadaily.com.cn/Agencies)

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German luxury carmakers limit year-end shutdowns as China demand holds up
 
The BMW i8 hybrid-electric concept vehicle is seen at the LA Auto Show in Los Angeles November 16, 2011. [Photo/Agencies] 

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG (DAI) and Audi AG plan to limit holiday breaks for the second year in a row as demand holds up for luxury vehicles in China.

BMW and Daimler's Mercedes-Benz will shut most factories for just one week between Christmas and New Year's Day, while Audi will close European plants for two weeks, the carmakers said. The automakers lengthened year-end breaks for many workers to as long as three weeks in 2009 due to sagging deliveries.

The luxury-auto makers posted record November sales in China. Audi soared 69 percent, BMW rose 9.8 percent and Mercedes gained 24 percent. The three are looking to the world's biggest car market to prop up deliveries as European demand sags on concern over the region's sovereign debt crisis. European sales in October, the most recent data available, fell 1.4 percent.

German auto buyers in November waited on average 3.3 months for delivery, down from 3.6 months in October, according to a study from the Center for Automotive Research at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The German car market, Europe's largest, probably won't grow next year as the debt crisis saps consumer confidence, auto-industry association VDA said.

The world's three biggest luxury-car manufacturers are still reporting sales increases thanks to China and the US. BMW said that global deliveries gained 6.4 percent in November, while Volkswagen AG’s Audi surged 28 percent. Mercedes reported that sales climbed 8.3 percent in November.