So far this year, the BMW group, which also owns the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, has delivered 962,468 vehicles, an increase of 17.9 percent, a statement said.

"We have just reported the most successful July sales ever and we are well on our way to achieving our recently announced target of over 1.6 million vehicles in 2011, the best ever sales result for the BMW group," sales director Ian Robertson was quoted as saying.

Substantial increases were noted in China and the United States, two of BMW's main markets, along with jumps in Brazil, India, Russia and South Korea.

Sales in Germany itself slipped by a slight 0.8 percent however, the automaker said.

The eponymous BMW brand turned in monthly sales of 108,721 units, a gain of 7.1 percent from July 2010.

Premium automakers have been on a roll owing to surging demand in emerging markets, but could see sales growth ease later this year as the global economy enters an uncertain period.

On Friday, General Motors said its sales in China, the world's largest auto market, fell 1.8 percent in July on a 12-month basis owing to weaker demand for commercial vehicles.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2010