Daimler's Mercedes-Benz Sales Rise 1.8%, Led by Smart (Update1)

04/07/2008 22:08. July 4 (Bloomberg) -- Daimler AG , the world's second-largest luxury carmaker, said sales at the Mercedes-Benz Cars division increased 1.8 percent in June as more drivers bought the Smart two-seat model.

Sales rose to 119,300 cars and sport-utility vehicles from 117,200 a year earlier, Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler said in an e-mailed statement today. Six-month deliveries advanced 8.2 percent to 668,100 vehicles.

Daimler Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche has a target of increasing sales in 2008, helped by growth in Russia and China and new models such as an updated SL-Class roadster. Deliveries of the Smart jumped 34 percent to a record 13,300 in June, helped by the car's mid-January introduction... // Bloomberg