Mercedes-Benz gains record sales in 2013

German carmaker Daimler AG said Friday sales of its luxury Mercedes-Benz cars hit a record 1.46 million in 2013, up 10.7 percent over the previous year. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG chief executive officer and head of Mercedes-Benz Cars, said in a statement it was the brand's best year and showed its growth strategy was working. Zetsche said Mercedes was able to expand its market shares in Europe and the U.S., and its sales in China were "on the right track." According to the statement, Mercedes-Benz sold 312,534 units and 218,045 units respectively in the U.S. and China, an increase of 14 and 11.1 percent respectively over the previous year. Its sales in Europe also increased by 5.9 percent. Mercedes-Benz released its data one day after rival Audi announced its global sales rose 8.3 percent to more than 1.57 million units in 2013. The Volkswagen-owned luxury division said it would invest an additional 22 billion euros (about 30 billion U.S. dollars) in model expansion and new technologies between 2014 and 2018. Audi also said it had set a new target of 2 million deliveries per year after reaching its current goal of 1.5 million in 2013, two years ahead of the schedule.