Daimler reported a 95 percent surge in first-quarter profit as its expanded compact car range and demand from China and the United States boosted vehicle sales to record levels.

Earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 1.79 billion euros ($2.47 billion) from 917 million euros a year earlier, Daimler said in a statement. Adjusted EBIT from ongoing business rose to 2.07 billion euros, up from 949 million euros

Revenue increased by 13 percent to 29.5 billion euros despite unfavorable exchange rate developments, the company said.

Daimler CEO Dieter Zetsche said: “We made a good start to this year, as expected. As the year progresses, we will continue working systematically on our profitable growth path.”

Profitability at the Mercedes cars division has improved as a range of new models including the A- and B-class, GLA and CLA compact cars as well as its flagship S class hit showrooms, more than doubling the division’s return on sales from ongoing operations to 7 percent in the quarter, up from 3.3 percent in the year-earlier quarter. Daimler said it aimed to increase that to 10 percent in the medium term.

The cars division’s first-quarter deliveries rose 14 percent to a record 389,500. Due to a more favorable model mix, revenue increased 21 percent to €17 billion. The division’s EBIT was €1,183 million, up significantly from 460 million the year before. “The earnings development in the first quarter primarily reflects the ongoing growth in unit sales, especially in China and the United States,” Daimler said.

“These are exceptionally good numbers,” said Hans-Peter Wodniok, a Germany-based analyst with Fairesearch. “The volume growth, especially in cars, and higher average prices have helped tremendously.”

Mercedes increased deliveries in the first quarter at a faster pace than BMW and Audi, as the Daimler unit shows progress in its effort to regain the top spot in global luxury-car sales. The growth push involves rolling out 30 Mercedes models by the end of the decade, including a dozen all-new vehicles.

Deliveries of segment-leading BMW and No. 2 Audi each rose 12 percent in the period. All three German luxury-car makers are targeting record sales in 2014

Daimler reiterated it saw significantly higher EBIT from ongoing business this year.

The Stuttgart-based automaker’s first-quarter results stand in sharp contrast to last year, when Daimler warned it might have to cut its profit expectations only nine weeks after it had reported full-year results, blaming a slump in car sales.

In February this year, Daimler said it expected group EBIT to increase “significantly” in 2014 from the 7.9 billion euros it reported for last year.

Furthermore it said it saw significantly higher sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars than the 1.566 million cars it sold in 2013.