With the oil crisis and food shortage seemingly affecting the whole world, it seems that China isn’t the only one that’s bothered by these two problems. How can you tell? Well, just look at hoe this powerhouse was able to do in helping increase the sales of the two most popular luxury car brands this year.

Based on reports, China was able to boost the sales of both BMW and Mercedes-Benz for the first six months of this year. BMW’s sales were increased by 28 percent while Mercedes-Benz was able to score a whopping 52 percent increase in sales. This resulted in BMW selling a total of 30,325 BMW and Mini Cars while Mercedes Benz was able to sell a total of 18,000 vehicles, both imported and produced locally for them.

So what’s the reason for the two companies increase in sale and China’s improved buying power? Well, chalk it up to the country’s strong economic growth and increased individual wealth. And that comes despite the Shanghai stock market performing poorly as of late. Since it looks like this year is going to be China’s year, expect both BMW and Mercedes-Benz to roll out some more products to capitalize on this opportunity. After all, you never know up until when this lucky streak will last.

Sources: Edmunds, Cars.About.com