With 156,957 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce brand automobiles delivered worldwide (prev. yr. 147,565 / +6.4%), the BMW Group achieved its best-ever May sales result. A total of 728,029 (prev. yr. 667,523 / +9.1%) vehicles have been delivered to customers since the start of the year, exceeding the previous year's first five months by more than 60,000 units.

Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management, sales and marketing BMW, said "Our vehicle portfolio continues to be in strong demand and once again we achieved record sales in the month of May. Exceptional new products such as the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé, which we launched on the 1st of June, as well as the new BMW 7 Series, will continue to drive momentum. We are well on our way to achieving a new all-time high for sales in the year 2012."

The BMW Group made strong gains in Asia in the month under review with 41,289 vehicles delivered (prev. yr. 32,839 / +25.7%). Mainland China accounted for 27,815 deliveries, an increase of 31.5% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 21,150). Year-to-date, 135,026 BMW and MINI vehicles have been sold in Mainland China (prev. yr. 100,456/ +34.4%).

Gains were solid across America with 35,127 vehicles delivered in May (prev. yr. 33,266 / +5.6%). In the U.S., 28,321 vehicles were delivered last month, an increase of +7.1% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 26,452). Year-to-date, the BMW Group is up 12.2% on sales of 130,843 in the first five months of 2012 compared to 116,656 in the same period in 2011.

In Europe, sales remained at the previous year's level, with 75,374 units sold (prev. yr. 76,668/ -1.7%). Several markets in northern and central Europe experienced robust growth in May, for example the U.K. (13,438/ +8.9%), the Netherlands (2,500/ +33.8%), and Austria (2,137/ +10.5%). In Germany, a total of 27,796 new BMW and MINI vehicles were registered in May. (prev. yr. 29,350/ -5.3%). The BMW brand accounted for 24,116 registrations (prev. yr. 24,768/ -2.6%) and MINI for 3,680 registrations (prev. yr. 4,582/ -19.7%). Year-to-date, 121, 202 BMW and MINI vehicles have been registered in Germany, an increase of +1.1% (prev. yr. 119,873).