BMW's China sales rose nearly 11 percent in the first three months to 127,105 vehicles, easing concerns that the luxury market might be stagnating.

 

BMW did not provide March sales data.

 

Through the first three months, BMW remained China's No. 2 luxury brand, but Mercedes-Benz is catching up. In the period, Mercedes deliveries in China jumped 36 percent to 106,641 vehicles.

 

Meanwhile, Audi maintained its sales margin over its two German rivals. Through March, Audi deliveries increased 4.7 percent to 139,540 vehicles.

 

Audi, BMW and Mercedes dominate China's luxury market, and each is introducing new crossovers to satisfy China's growing demand.

 

But BMW has been unable to match Mercedes' blistering sales pace over the past year or so, and the company has shuffled its executive ranks.

 

On April 1, Liu Zhi took over as president of BMW's China sales company. Liu, 39, had been vice president for sales at BMW Brilliance Automotive, a 50-50 joint venture between BMW and state-owned Brilliance China Automotive Holdings.

 

BMW's former China sales chief, Xu Zhijun, was reassigned to BMW's Asia-Pacific office.