BMW Reports Record First-Quarter Sales

Luxury automaker BMW AG (IW 1000: 37) said it achieved record sales in the first quarter of 2012, powered by growth in all key markets, including Germany, the United States and China.

BMW said it sold 425,528 cars worldwide in the January-March period, up 11.2% compared with a year earlier.

It was "the best quarter in our company's history," the Munich-based automaker said.

Chinese sales jumped 36.8% to 80,014, with the United States up 16.6% at 75,729 and Germany up 2% to 66,222.

Looking ahead to the whole year, BMW said it hopes to grow faster than the overall market and is targeting record sales of its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles.

Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2012

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