Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, Daimler AG and Audi AG, the world’s three largest makers of luxury cars, forecast record sales this year driven by China and the U.S.

BMW, the maker of Mini and Rolls-Royce models, said today deliveries will increase beyond 1.5 million units this year from 1.46 million in 2010. Volkswagen AG’s Audi unit is aiming to deliver 1.2 million cars and sport-utility vehicles up from 1.09 million. Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz division expects record sales after delivering 1.17 million vehicles.

“We’re looking forward to a very upbeat year in 2011,” Audi Chief Executive Officer Rupert Stadler said at the Detroit auto show. “It is programmed to growth.”

Demand for luxury cars including BMW’s 5-Series, Mercedes’ top-of-the-line S-Class and Audi’s A8 flagship sedan is swinging back from the global recession, a rebound in the U.S. and the fastest growth since reunification in 1990 in Germany, the three manufacturers’ home-market, reported Bloomberg.

Sales in 2011 will be “defined by production capabilities rather than demand,” Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said at the show. “That’s a good problem to have.”

Munich-based BMW, which premiered the 6-Series convertible in Detroit and the M1, the first high-performance version of its 1-Series compact, is targeting 2 million sales by 2020. Mercedes is presenting a diesel S-Class, its fifth U.S. diesel model while Audi is rolling out an updated A6 sedan at the show.

“Customers are willing to spend again,” said Stefan Bratzel, director of the Center of Automotive Management at the University of Applied Sciences in Bergisch-Gladbach, Germany. “The momentum in the luxury segment is gaining ground, there’s no denying about that.”

Porsche AG, the German maker of the 911 sports car, said orders jumped 49 percent to a record 114,000 vehicles last year. The manufacturer expects to sell more than 100,000 vehicles this year after delivering 97,000 units in 2010, according to Chief Executive Officer Matthias Mueller.

“We’re entering the new year with considerable confidence,” Mueller said at a Detroit presentation.

The story of Audi momentum in the U.S. market doesn’t live only with the brand’s consistently strong new-vehicle sales results, which are on track to set a full-year record in 2010. Audi Certified Pre-Owned sales are also benefiting from strong consumer demand and established a new sales record for July.

In the recently concluded month, sales of Audi Certified Pre-Owned vehicles reached 2,766 vehicles. That represented a 9.7 percent improvement over year-earlier sales results of 2,521 vehicles and it topped the previous July Certified Pre-Owned sales record set in July 2008.

Particularly strong Audi Certified Pre-Owned sellers in July 2010 were the Audi Q7, which increased 243.7 percent; the Audi A3, which increased 108.1 percent, and the Audi TT, which increased 86.2 percent.

Audi is waiving the first monthly payment on Audi Certified Pre-Owned vehicles purchased through September 6th and financed through Audi Financial Services as part of the Summer of Audi Event. In July, the first payment offer proved popular among customers and helped drive the record sales result. Financing offers as low as 0.9% APR will also continue through September 6th.

The Audi Certified Pre-Owned program puts previously owned Audi models through a 300+ Point Inspection process before releasing them for sales. It further backs up the pre-owned Audi cars and SUVs with:

• 24/7 Roadside Assistance for the duration of the warranty, including trip interruption benefits;
• the balance of the original 12-year Corrosion Perforation Limited Warranty, regardless of mileage;
• the balance of no-charge scheduled maintenance;
• 24-hr customer service support;
• only vehicles with an approved CARFAX Report are considered for the Audi Certified pre-owned program;
• a factory-backed limited warranty with coverage for up to six years or 100,000 total vehicle miles.

MUNICH – The race for the No. 2 spot among global luxury carmakers tightened last month after Mercedes-Benz brand beat Audi in global monthly sales for the first time this year thanks to record growth in China, Automotive News reported.

Mercedes’ surge in May almost pushed it past BMW brand, which finished the month just 375 units ahead of its rival from Stuttgart.

Despite the scare, BMW brand remained No. 1 in global premium-brand car sales in May and continues to lead its German rivals through five months. (See box, bottom)

Strong demand for the E- and S-class models last month also allowed Mercedes to close the gap on Audi. The Volkswagen AG premium brand passed Mercedes in January and has forced its rival to remain in the No. 3 spot every month since.

Mercedes brand outsold Audi by 6,500 units in May, but Audi still leads Mercedes by 12,300 units after five months. That is the tightest the race between the two automakers has been since January.

Audi and Mercedes reported double-digit sales percentage gains in May thanks to big volume increases in the world’s largest auto market. Mercedes-Benz had a record 11,500 sales in China last month, a 121 percent increase from the 5,200 cars it sold in the same month last year. Audi’s China sales rose 39.9 percent in May to 17,396 units. Through May, Audi has sold 88,451 cars in China, a new company record for the country’s top-selling premium brand.

Audi also expects to finish the year with a double-digit increase in sales in the United States, where volume was up 31.4 percent to 39,839 cars after five months.

FRANKFURT – Audi AG said it plans to spend 7.3 billion euros ($10.51 billion) on plant upgrades, new products and technology research as it moves to expand its number of customers worldwide and increase market share, reported The Associated Press.

Audi, based in Ingolstadt, Germany, and a unit of Volkswagen AG, said it plans to spend that amount from 2009 to 2012 and will increase the number of models from its current 34 to a planned 42 by 2015.

Of the investment, about 5.9 billion euros will go toward new products and future technologies, or about 80 percent of its planned spending.

The company also wants to expand its model line, adding the A1, A7, A8 and R8 Spyder to its production portfolio in 2010, along with the Q5 Hybrid, slated to reach the market in the beginning of 2011.

“We will be in a position to finance all our planned investments from our operative cash flow,” Strotbek said.

The carmaker plans to spend heavily at its German plants, disbursing euro3.8 billion to its Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm plants from this year through 2012.

Volkswagen AG’s Audi brand aims to add eight models by 2015, challenging BMW AG as the world’s largest maker of luxury cars, reported Bloomberg.com.

Audi will invest 7.3 billion euros ($10.5 billion) on new models and plant upgrades through 2012, the Ingolstadt, Germany-based automaker said in a statement. Spending on new models will total about 5.9 billion euros, or 81 percent of the budget for the four-year period that includes 2009.

The investment is part of Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen’s plans to spend 25.8 billion euros between 2010 and 2012 as it seeks to become the world’s dominant automaker. Audi, which ranks third behind BMW and Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz brand, will increase its lineup of cars and sport-utility vehicles to 42 models by 2015 from 34 now, it said.

Audi’s new vehicles will include the A1 compact, which is due to be introduced in mid-2010. As BMW develops a line of small urban vehicles and Mercedes-Benz prepares to invest 1.4 billion euros to expand its small-car lineup, the A1 will become Audi’s lowest-priced model, spokesman Armin Goetz said in a telephone interview today.

The VW division will also introduce the A7, a large luxury-coupe that will compete with BMW’s 6-Series and Mercedes-Benz’s CLS. By the end of 2010, Audi will start selling a hybrid-version Q5 SUV, its first vehicle that combines an electric motor with a conventional engine. Audi will start producing the E-tron electric-powered sports car by the end of 2012.