The German carmaker Daimler said on Friday that March sales by its Mercedes-Benz division rose by 3.5 percent to 131,500 vehicles from the equivalent figure in 2007 with a boom by the Smart car.
Sales of the Mercedes-Benz brand itself declined by 2.9 percent to 119,400 units while those of the small city car Smart jumped by 193.7 percent to 12,100 cars. The Smart car was for a long time a problem child for the group and was even considered a candidate for divestment.
For the first quarter as a whole, sales by Mercedes-Benz Cars gained 11.1 percent to 318,700 units, the group said, with results from January and February offsetting the slump in March.
The division includes the Mercedes-Benz, Smart, Maybach and AMG brands.
Results were strongest in Asia-Pacific region and held up in the United States as well.
Sales in western Europe slipped by 0.4 percent however.
