Audi increased sales of luxury cars 11 per cent in November to 146,250 vehicles, its best-ever result for that month, bolstered by double-digit growth in the United States and China.

Deliveries in the January-to-November period were up 10 per cent to 1.59 million autos, already beating last year’s record 1.58 million in sales, Ingolstadt-based Audi said on Tuesday.

German rival Mercedes-Benz posted a 13 per cent gain in November sales to a record 150,742 cars, extending the year-to-date increase to 12 per cent or 1.49 million.

Audi’s success contrasts with the struggles of parent company Volkswagen, which has been challenged in recent year to develop the right mix of cars and trucks in the U.S.

Volkswagen has the goal of matching the success of General Motors and Toyota globally, but in the U.S. the carmaker has modest market share and isn’t selling the big trucks and SUVs that are now popular with American buyers.

(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Jonathan Gould)

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