Mercedes set for record production

 Mercedes-Benz is on its way to a record year in production. The German premium brand will produce 1.2 million vehicles globally in 2010, beating its previous best year of 1.19 million units assembled in 2008.

"Our production was running at high speed, especially in the second half," said Wolfgang Bernhard, head of Mercedes-Benz operations, in a statement.

The measure is good news for the automaker which has seen high demand for its E-Class and S-Class models this year. But sales and production figures don't always match up by the end of the year - for example, during the crisis that hit the global auto industry in 2009, Mercedes-Benz reduced its production by 23 percent although its sales were only down by 14 points.

But 2010 has been a much better year and the news has also been good for Mercedes-Benz's arch competitors, Audi and BMW, who have also seen booming sales as markets continue to grow in China and remain healthy or on the rebound in Europe and North America.

For the first 11 months of 2010, Mercedes-Benz brand sales were 1.06 million. BMW brand sold a premium marque leading 1.11 million units in that period. Audi sales through November for 2010 were 1,003,900 units.

Source: Bloomberg