FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Strong demand for luxury cars in China in the third quarter helped turn around margins at Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz cars division despite an overall fall in deliveries due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the carmaker said on Friday. The adjusted return on sales at Mercedes-Benz Cars & Vans rose to 9.4% in the quarter, up from 7% a year earlier and above the minus 1.5% margin Daimler posted in the second quarter. Daimler said its adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) rose to 3.479 billion euros ($4.11 billion) in the quarter, up from 3.14 billion euros in the year-earlier period. The carmaker added it expected full-year EBIT to reach prior-year levels, and reiterated it expects group unit sales and revenue in 2020 to be significantly lower than the prior year. ($1 = 0.8474 euros)