BMW said on Tuesday it aimed to sell 165,000 Mini hatchbacks in 2003, almost 15% more than last year, Reuters reported.

“I am certain that we’ll sell 165,000 Minis,” the BMW board member responsible for sales and marketing, Michael Ganal, told Reuters at the Frankfurt international motor show.

The news agency said the company sold 144,000 Minis in 2002, while BMW executives admit the success of a brand salvaged from the disastrous takeover of Britain’s Rover in 1994 has taken them by surprise.