BMW worldwide August sales up 2 pc

FRANKFURT: BMW's sales in August increased 2 percent over the same period a year ago with the Mini and Rolls Royce brands the main contributors, the German carmaker said on Friday.

August sales of BMW cars were flat versus a year ago, but Mini sales were up nearly 11 percent, while Rolls Royce car sales increased by 23 percent on the same month a year ago. Meanwhile, BMW motorcycles fell 9 percent.

For the first nine months, the group's sales are up more than 4 percent, with BMW cars up 2.2 percent; Mini up 15 percent and Rolls Royce up more than 52 percent. Motorcycle sales continued to lag, down nearly 3 percent in the first nine months.

``The difficult economic conditions on the global automobile markets remain a major challenge,'' said Ian Robertson, BMW AG's sales and marketing manager in a statement.

``However, the BMW Group was able to continue to grow during the month with a strong focus on high performing and profitable markets across the world.''

He said the company's redesign of the BMW 3 series and the launch of the new BMW 7 series should contribute to sales over the next few months.

BMW said Asia saw a 32 percent increase in sales in August, eastern Europe a 19 percent increase, and North America a 1.7 percent increase. In western Europe, sales fell by 2.5 percent for the month.

Shares of BMW were trading down 2.4 percent at euro27.60 (US$39.19) in a broadly lower market.