China Daily (Beijing) – Despite cooling in the overall auto market in China, luxury car brands maintained a scorching pace in the first half of this year.

Audi, the luxury brand of Volkswagen Group and the premium car sales champion in China, sold about 140,000 vehicles on the mainland and in Hong Kong between January and June this year, 28 percent growth over a year ago.

Its June sales reached a record-high 27,658 units, enabling China to surpass Germany to become Audi’s largest single market worldwide.

The company aims to move 280,000 vehicles in China this year.

BMW, the second-largest luxury carmaker in China, reported a 61 percent surge in mainland sales in the first half to 121,614 vehicles.

The number includes 113,169 BMWs and 8,445 Mini cars.

Mercedes-Benz, another German luxury giant, registered brisk sales as well in the first half. Its China sales jumped 52 percent to 92,200 units.

Volvo, the Swedish premium brand delivered more than 21,000 vehicles in the first half, increasing 36 percent from the same period last year, with China now becoming the brand’s third-largest market worldwide.