For the first six months of 2014, Mercedes-Benz reports that it has sold 783,520 vehicles, up 12.8% over sales in the first half of last year and the best six-month sales period in the company’s long history. Of the total sales 142,136 were passenger cars, a rise of 8%.

Mercedes-Benz reported that it sold 26,506 units in the U.S. in June and the sales total for the first half of the year is 151,624, up 6.8% year-over-year. The company plans to introduce its new C-Class models in the U.S. in September at a beginning price point of around $36,000. The C-Class is the company’s volume sales leader in the North American market.

A company official said that Mercedes-Benz was “on track to make 2014 into yet another record year.”

Sales in Europe are up 7.4% year-over-year, but the big gain has come in China/Hong Kong, where sales are up 37.5% to 135,972 units. The Chinese market will also be introduced to the company’s new C-Class cars in September.

Volkswagen’s Audi reported that its sales in China rose nearly 18% to 268,666 vehicles in the first half of the year. In June, Audi sold 50,756 cars in China, its strongest month ever.

Mercedes also sold 166,730 SUVs in the first half of 2014, up 6.8% year-over-year.

About the only downbeat news comes on sales of its smart fortwo car sales, down nearly 10%. The company is introducing the next generation of its smart brand later this month.

Demand for luxury cars from BMW, Audi, and Mercedes remains strong. All three outsold the General Motors Co.’s (NYSE: GM) Cadillac in June according to Kelley Blue Book, which sold just 13,941 vehicles in the U.S. in the month. Audi’s U.S. sales totaled 16,867, while Mercedes sold 28,707 units and BMW sold 30,201. The Lincoln brand from Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) sold just 7,271 units in June, a sequential drop of nearly 18% although Lincoln’s sales are up about 16% for the first six months of the year.

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