(Reuters) -German luxury sports carmaker Porsche said on Tuesday its sales fell in the first half of the year, blaming challenging market conditions and intense competition for a 28% slump in the Chinese market.

Globally the sales of the carmaker fell 6% and Porsche delivered a total of 146,391 vehicles worldwide, but they grew by 10% in North America, its largest region.

"The increase is mainly due to higher product availability in the market and the price protection offered in the first half of the year due to increased import tariffs," Porsche said in a statement.

On Monday, Mercedes-Benz said its second-quarter unit sales of cars and vans fell 9%, citing the impact of tariffs.

Of the vehicles delivered this year to June, 36% were electrified, a 14.5% increase from last year, Porsche added.