BMW extends sales lead over German rivals

Dragon dancers perform near Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) 3-series automobiles at the BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd Tiexi plant in Tiexi, near Shenyang Liaoning Province, China (file). BMW’s sales rose faster in June than at Audi and Mercedes as demand from China and the US helped the German luxury car maker to extend a lead over its two main rivals in the first six months of the year. Sales at BMW’s core brand were up 9.4% in June to 153,000 autos, the Munich-based company said yesterday, compared with growth of 8.3% and 5.5% respectively at Mercedes and Volkswagen-owned Audi. Six-month sales at BMW rose 7.7% to 804,000 cars, expanding the lead over runner-up Audi to 24,000 from 11,000 after five months. Half-year sales at Audi and Mercedes rose 6.4% each to 780,500 and 694,000 autos respectively.