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Reuters / July 7, 2006 - 7:00 am
SHANGHAI -- BMW AG said on Friday its sales in China and Taiwan rose 55.8 percent in the first half of 2006 from a year earlier, due largely to robust demand in the mainland.
The world's largest premium carmaker delivered 21,582 vehicles in the region, with sales in mainland China alone totaling 16,833 units, up 78.4 percent, it said in a statement.
Sales of imported models came to 6,271 units during the six-month period, up 162.1 percent from a year earlier, it added.
BMW, which counts DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes-Benz as one of its main competitors in the world's second-largest auto market, runs a venture in the northeastern city of Shenyang with Brilliance China Automotive Holdings Ltd., where it produces the BMW 3 series and 5 series.
Chinese media has reported BMW expansion plans for the venture's capacity, now at 30,000 units per year. But CEO Helmut Panke told Reuters in June that talks with the Chinese partner had not started yet.
Just as a point of comparison > BMW sold 24,688 vehicles in the month of May/006 just in the U.S. alone according to the most recently published sales statistics.
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