China to overtake U.S. as BMW’s largest market

China will overtake the United States as BMW’s single largest market in 2013, the German automaker revealed on Wednesday.

China’s leapfrogging of the United States should come as no surprise as the automaker has steadily been building its sales in the world’s largest auto market over the last several years. BMW sold 800 cars in China during all of 1994, but now sells about 900 cars there per day.

During the first six months of the year BMW – including its MINI small car division – sold 182,800 cars in China, representing a 15 percent boost in sales. The United States, meanwhile, posted a 9 percent increase to 172,787 units.

Moreover, BMW says it still has plenty of room to grow in China, which should keep it ahead of the U.S. in terms of sales for the long-term.

“Strong growth in future will come from the smaller cities, and the strong growth will also come especially from the western region,” Karsten Engel, head of BMW’s business in China, told The Detroit News. “There are 100 cities with more than a million inhabitants in China with no premium car dealers at all, so this shows the huge potential we’re having in this country.”

BMW currently holds a 23.6 percent share of China’s luxury market, trailing only Audi’s 29.6 percent cut of the market. Cross-country rival Mercedes-Benz is third with a 20.6 percent market share.