Mercedes-Benz Q3 car sales fall 8% as China demand weakness persists, EV sales rise 52%

Oct 7 (Reuters) - German luxury carmaker Mercedes-Benz said on Wednesday sales in its core car business continued to fall in the third quarter, declining 8% year-on-year due to challenging market conditions in China.

• Car deliveries fell to 407,200 units in the July-September period, the company said in a statement.

• In China, the drop was 31% to 86,800 units, compared with the same period last year.

• Quarterly sales in Top-End segment dropped 21% to 53,900 units, affected by the weaker market environment in China and ongoing model changeovers.

• However, car sales rose by 6% in the U.S. and 5% in Europe.

• Group sales of battery-electric vehicles, which include cars and vans, rose by 52% to 78,100 units.

(Reporting by Rachel More and Amir OrusovEditing by Linda Pasquini)