BMW sales up 14.6 pc in April

FRANKFURT: Luxury car maker BMW AG said Monday its sales were up 14.6 per cent on the year in April, bolstered by rising demand in Europe and the US, and big gains in Asia.

The Munich-based automaker, whose brands also include Mini and Rolls-Royce, sold nearly 116,400 cars worldwide last month. Ian Robertson, who oversees the company's sales and marketing, pointed to ``growing market demand.''

In the US, BMW's biggest export market, sales rose 9 percent in April with 21,111 cars sold. The Asian market saw an increase of nearly 65 percent while sales in Europe were up nearly 4 per cent.

BMW aims to sell more than 1.3 million cars worldwide in 2010. Shares were up nearly 4.3 per cent to euro37 ($47.16) in Frankfurt trading, part of a wider increase among the DAX index, which soared 4.8 per cent.