BMW passenger car sales of its core brand rose 4 percent in May to 159,129 vehicles, helped by strong demand in the Americas and an ongoing recovery in the European car market while growth in China remained anaemic. Sales of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles rose 5.9 percent to 188,287 vehicles, making it the best May ever for the carmaker, BMW said on June 12. Deliveries of the Mini brand rose 18.3 percent in the month. In China, the world's biggest car market, growth in BMW and Mini sales remained at April's level of 0.6 percent.
BMW is under pressure in China from a cooling economy, a government move to rein in luxury car prices, a trial programme allowing unauthorised dealers to sell imported cars and tensions with Chinese dealership groups.
In the Americas, 9.7 percent more BMW and Mini cars were delivered to customers, down from a 12.1 percent increase in April.