Booming sales of Mercedes-Benz cars in China helped Daimler post strong first-quarter results, as the German car and truck maker said it expected “solid” global economic growth this year.

The Stuttgart-based company reported net profit in the three months to the end of March of €1.18bn, almost double the €612m in the same period a year earlier, helped by higher margins in its cars division – up 2.3 points to 9.3 per cent – and a strong rebound in its truck unit. Revenues rose 17 per cent to €24.7bn (€21.2bn).

Daimler sold 310,700 cars, up 12 per cent on the same quarter in 2010, driven by demand in China where unit sales jumped 82 per cent to 48,900 vehicles. The company’s two biggest markets, the US and Germany, respectively, saw unit sales rise 4 per cent.