Smart leads the charge

SHANGHAI - China has been the third-largest market for the smart brand of micro-cars by Mercedes-Benz, presenting great potential to be the No 1 market for the German automaker in the near future, said company executives.

"Since its debut in China in 2009, smart has maintained strong momentum in the past two years," said Bjorn Hauber, executive vice-president for sales and marketing at Mercedes-Benz (China) Ltd.

He told China Daily that in the first half of 2011, Mercedes sold almost 5,500 units of smart cars in China, with a growth rate of 360 percent over the same period last year. This marks China as the third-biggest market, trailing behind Germany and Italy, for the two-seater car model.