Munich - Germany's three main premium-car brands reported Tuesday year-on-year growth of more than a third in sales to China.

In September, Audi, a unit of Volkswagen Group, breached the mark of 15,000 cars per month in China for the first time. That was 37 per cent more than in the matching month a year ago.

BMW said its sales rose 35 per cent in the space of one year to 8,130 cars in September, including its sub-brand Mini.

Daimler sold 7,000 of its Mercedes-Benz cars to Chinese buyers in the month, a surge of 59 per cent.

The Stuttgart company, which also includes its sub-brand Smart in world sales figures, said there had been strong Chinese interest in its new, extra luxurious Mercedes E-Class cars, which had made up 1,700 of the number.