BMW achieves record sales, eyes further increase

Frankfurt: German top-of-the-range carmaker BMW said on Thursday it achieved a new sales record in 2012 and is hoping to improve on that again this year.

BMW said in a statement it sold a total 1.

845 million vehicles last year, an increase of 10.6 percent over 2011.

In December alone, it sold 181,571 vehicles, which represents a rise of 14.8 percent year-on-year.

“2012 was a very successful year for us,” boasted sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson.

“The BMW group achieved its best ever sales result for the second year in a row and expanded its lead in the premium segment,” Robertson said.

And he continued: “We enter the new year with positive momentum and despite the prevailing headwinds in some markets, we aim to achieve another record year in sales in 2013.

”

BMW planned to launch its all-electric BMW i3 “towards the end of the year,” Robertson said.

Sales growth was driven mainly by overseas demand for the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands.

While European sales edged up by 0.

8 percent in 2012, sales in Asia raced ahead by 31.

6 percent, with Chinese sales soaring by 40.4 percent.

In the Americas, sales were up 11.9 percent last year, BMW said.