German trio cash in on a taste for luxury

Australia's love affair with luxury German cars continues to grow, with the big three brands – Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz – all enjoying significant sales growth in 2016 thanks in part to their medium-sized sedans.

Mercedes-Benz was the big winner, selling 41,226 cars, up 13.3% from 2015, while BMW sold 28,028 (up 12%) and Audi 24,258 (up 5.1%).

The key to success for Mercedes is the C-Class, which not only topped the luxury car sales but turned out to be the second most popular medium car overall, splitting the huge selling and significantly less expensive Toyota Camry and the popular Mazda 6.

The BMW 3-Series was fourth, ahead of more affordable options such as the Subaru Liberty and Kia Optima.

The C-Class, 3-Series and Audi A4 come with plenty of choice in terms of equipment and performance, with several variants falling around the $65,000 mark, which compares well with upper-spec models from less prestigious brands.