BMW Group's sales rise in 2nd quarter despite decline in China

By Mucahitan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - German carmaker BMW Group increased its sales 0.4% year-on-year in the second quarter even though sales in China fell, according to the group's financial results released Thursday.

Vehicle sales of the company's three brands (BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce) rose to 621,271 units this April-June compared to the same period last year.

Sales of BMW vehicles, the company's main brand, fell 2.6% year-on-year to 550,693 units in the same period.

The German carmaker's electric vehicle (EV) sales jumped 10.2% from the same period last year, reaching 161,462.

Sales in China, the company's biggest country market, however, dropped 13.7% year-on-year.

In the first quarter of the year, BMW Group sales fell 0.5% compared to the same period last year to 1.2 million.

"Thanks to our attractive product line-up, we were able to close the second quarter successfully. Between April and June, the BMW Group reported sales growth of +0.4% compared to the same period last year,” said Jochen Goller, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG responsible for Customer, Brands, Sales.

He added: “In the second quarter, we also achieved an important milestone, with the delivery of our 1.5-millionth fully-electric vehicle. This success underlines once again how the BMW Group has evolved from an electric pioneer to one of the leading players in the BEV market – now offering more than 15 fully-electric models."