International markets continue to grow in importance to luxury goods makers.
Soaring demand in China, Brazil and India helped the world’s three largest luxury-car makers eke out sales gains last month, the latest sign that a recovery in the premium segment is gaining traction. BMW AG’s core brand recorded its first year-to-year sales increase this year, with a 0.4% increase last month to 95,859 cars. The world’s largest premium auto maker by sales posted a 15% drop for the first 10 months of the year to 873,318 cars. Demand for cars contracted sharply at the end of last year as credit markets dried up and consumer confidence waned in the economic downturn. As a result, most auto makers will shows sales improvements in coming months. – From WSJ