June sales of Mercedes-Benz luxury cars grew at the slowest monthly rate so far this year as sales in the key market of China continued to increase at a tepid rate.

Daimler said volumes of its premium brand rose 0.9 percent in June, translating to a cumulative rise of 6.9 percent in the first half to a record high 652,924 vehicles.

Mercedes sales chief Joachim Schmidt blamed weak sales in China relative to larger rivals BMW and Audi on temporary factors, such as model changeovers and a current lack of local production, US-based auto portal Auto Gazette reported on Wednesday.