The incredible growth in China had resulted to the higher sales of the flagship BMW brand by 14.3% to 146,843 in September. This drove BMW, the biggest premium carmaker in the world, to keep its sales lead over rivals Audi and Mercedes Benz. In the first nine months of the year, BMW brand sales increased by 8.6% to 1.11 million vehicles, compared with deliveries of 1.10 million at Audi, a 12.8% increase. The third-quarter sales at Mercedes-Benz increased by 5% to 964,926 units. Audi’s monthly sales increased by 13.6% to 136,600, while Mercedes deliveries climbed 2% to 123,358. In a statement last Tuesday, BMW brand sales chief Ian Robertson said that it hopes to see more growth in global sales in the fourth quarter.
He added the group is on track to setting a new sales record for the entire year. In the first nine months, the overall sales of BMW Group vehicles (which include the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands) increased by 8.3% to 1.33 million. Last September, the group’s sales increased by 11.6% to 177,716 vehicles, setting a record for the month.
The monthly sales of the compact BMW 1 series had been notably strong. BMW’s global deliveries increased by 51.1% to 25,583, while the demand for the new-generation BMW 3 series, which was launched globally in mid-February, increased by 9.7% to 39,302 units. Last September, the group’s Mini brand sold 30,562 cars, a 0.6% increase compared to last year’s figures. Through September, deliveries increased by 7.2% to 223,214 units. Last Tuesday, BMW said that Rolls-Royce’s nine-month sales rose 4.7%. BMW didn’t divulge the exact number of vehicles sold. BMW Group’s sales in China, its single-largest market, rose by 59.4% last month to 29,631 deliveries.
