BMW reports rising sales in China

SHANGHAI - German luxury carmaker BMW said sales in China had jumped 56 per cent in the first nine months of this year from a year earlier.

Total sales in mainland China came to 26,438 units -- including 25,740 BMW brands and 698 Minis -- outperforming its 2005 full-year sales of 24,025 units, the company said last night in a statement.

Sales in the Greater China area including Taiwan and Hong Kong rose 39 per cent to 32,817 units in the three-quarter period.

Other foreign automakers have also reported encouraging China sales for the nine months.

Ford Motor Co., the second-largest US carmaker and a relative latecomer to the world's second-largest auto market, saw its sales surge 105.5 per cent from a year earlier to 114,685 vehicles.

Top European automaker Volkswagen AG sold 524,558 vehicles, up 28.7 per cent from a year earlier.

Other auto giants including BMW rival DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz have yet to release their sales figures.

BMW, the world's largest premium carmaker, has teamed up with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd. to produce the BMW 3 Series and 5 Series in a venture with an annual capacity of 30,000 units in China's northern city of Shenyang.

The market expects the venture to expand, and it may reach full capacity next year.

- REUTERS