The BMW Group continues its upward trend in sales: The company increased global sales of its three premium automobile brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, by 10.8% (120,843 / prev. yr. 109,049) in May. Deliveries for the year to the end of May climbed 13.3% to 552,864 vehicles (prev. yr. 487,914).

Official Release: Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing: “The sales trend remains positive – we reported healthy double-digit growth once again in May. Thanks to our numerous new models, such as the BMW 5 Series and the BMW X1, we are on course to maintain our position as the world’s leading manufacturer of premium vehicles throughout 2010.”

The BMW brand sold 101,775 units (prev. yr. 90,649) worldwide last month – an increase of 12.3%. For the year to the end of May, sales were 14.1% higher than the previous year’s figure (408,377) at 466,087 vehicles. The models with the strongest growth in the month under review were the BMW 7 Series, with an increase of 33.6% (4,501 / prev. yr. 3,370), and the new BMW 5 Series Sedan, with an increase of 13.1% (13,716 / prev. yr. 12,131). The latest BMW 5 Series Touring will come onto the market in the autumn and is set to give sales a further boost, especially in Europe. The BMW 3 Series (+6.9% / 35,398), the BMW Z4 (+10.9% / 2,624) and X6 (+3,3% /3,743) models also made gains in May. Yesterday, 8 June, marked another milestone for the BMW X5, as the one millionth BMW X5 left the production plant of the US site in Spartanburg, South Carolina. This successful model, now in its second generation, has been in production since 1999 and remains the clear market leader in the premium off/on roader segment. Following its recent model overhaul, the BMW X5 is now available with new, more powerful, even more economical engines.

With 18,848 (prev. yr. 18,349) sales worldwide in May, MINI brand volumes were 2.7% higher. The MINI Clubman was purchased by 7.7% (3,624 / prev. yr. 3,366) more customers than in the same period last year. MINI’s traditionally best-selling Hatch versions also made gains in May. The 12,298 deliveries (prev. yr. 11,930) of this model represent an increase of 3.1%.

The company once again made strong gains in the emerging “BRIC” countries. China was one of the clear leaders – also among the Asian growth markets. The BMW Group sold more than twice as many BMW and MINI vehicles here than last May, with an increase of 107.3% (13,998 / prev. yr. 6,752). Strong growth was also reported in Europe’s key high-volume markets: For example, deliveries climbed 44.6% (6,251 / prev. yr. 4,323) in France; 28.1% (10,965 / prev. yr. 8,557) in U.K/Ireland; and 29.4% in Spain (3,995 / prev. yr. 3,087).