BMW says May brand sales up 8%, beating Audi, Mercedes

FRANKFURT -- BMW said global sales of its core BMW brand rose 8 percent in May to 139,161, outpacing delivery gains of rivals Audi and Mercedes-Benz brand, and pushing five-month sales up 7 percent to 651,168. BMW Group said that demand in the United States and China helped boost group vehicle sales, including its Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, by 6 percent last month to a record 166,397 vehicles, its best May sales result. In the first five months, sales rose 6 percent to 770,025, the company said in a statement today. "We could offset the headwinds in Europe through solid gains in other markets such as the U.S., China, Japan and Russia,'' BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said in the statement. BMW Group sales gained in all the company's major markets last month except Europe, where they remained flat, falling 1 percent to 74,918. Since January, deliveries have risen 2 percent to 352,013. In the United States, monthly volume was up 10 percent to 31,174 and sales in No. 1 market China grew 11 percent to 30,311. Monthly deliveries of the group's Mini brand rose by 2 percent to 26,955, helped by the Paceman model that has boosted sales of the marque by nearly 3,000 vehicles since its launch in mid-March this year. BMW said the Mini brand has reached a total of more than 2.5 million deliveries to customers since its relaunch under the BMW Group in 2001. In the first five months, brand sales fell 2 percent to 117,694. BMW said demand for its core brand in May was driven by strong sales of the X1 compact SUV, which rose 29 percent to 14,718, and the sixth-generation 3 series, which rose 28 percent to 41,811 vehicles. In total, the latest 3 series has sold 400,000 units since its launch in February 2012, BMW said. BMW brand sales top Audi, Mercedes in May BMW, the world's biggest premium-vehicle maker since 2005, is working to stave off challenges by second-ranked Audi and third-place Mercedes-Benz. Both have vowed to pass BMW for the global luxury-car sales lead by the end of the decade. Last week, Audi said sales rose 6 percent in May to 137,200, pushing five-month sales up 7 percent to 640,200. The Mercedes brand sold 121,360 in May, a rise of 7 percent. Through May, Mercedes' global deliveries rose 6 percent to 562,824. Last year, BMW brand reported unit sales of 1.54 million, compared with Audi's 1.45 million and Mercedes brand's 1.32 million. Reuters contributed to this report