BMW reported a 6.6 percent growth in group sales in January, the strongest January in its history, amid strong gains in the Asian markets.
A total of 112,163 BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles were delivered to customers in the month, up 6.6 pecent from the year-ago month's 105,193 vehicles.
BMW sales grew 5.9 percent to 96,183 vehicles. Sales of the new 1 Series increased over 19 percent to 13,070 units. Sales of the 3 Series slipped 3.3 percent to 22,710 units, ahead of a model change in February.
The X1 volumes rose 5.6 percent and the X5 deliveries grew 8.3 percent. But X3 sales jumped 56.2 percent from last year, to 9,348 vehicles. Sales of the flagship 7 Series, sales climbed 37 percent to 5,844 vehicles.
Meanwhile Mini sales improved 11.6 percent to 15,768 units with a 59 percent increase in sales for the Mini Countryman.
Asia paced the surge, with deliveries climbing 25.6 percent to 36,422 vehicles. In China, 26,505 vehicles were sold last month, up 30.5 percent from last year. In the U.S., the company's largest single market, sales increased 5.8 percent to 19,739 units.
Ian Robertson, responsible for Sales and Marketing, said, "We made a successful start to the new year, selling more BMW brand vehicles than ever before in the month of January. "
BMW expects even more dynamic growth in the second half of the year, owing to the launch of additional new models.––Paul Duchene
