The BMW group delivered 127,546 automobiles to customers last month in market conditions it said remained “difficult”. June saw the highest monthly sales so far this year and a smaller fall of 12.7% year on year.
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First half sales were off 19.5% year on year to 615,454 versus 764,874 in H1 2008 but the company said it had gained market share in markets where volume had slipped such as the US. It had a record month in Canada.
Sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson, who on Monday greeted Mini #1.5m off the line in Oxford, UK, said: “There are first indications of a slight recovery on the automobile markets. It remains to be seen whether this trend will be sustained.
“With a decrease of 18% in the second quarter, we also performed better than in the first, where sales were down about 21%.”
BMW brand sales were 13.4% lower at 105,220 in June. Mini sales were off 8.9% to 22,273 units and Rolls-Royce plunged 53.5% to 53.
BMW first half sales fell 19.4% to 513,591, Mini was down 19.9% to 101,534 and Rolls-Royce was off 33.5% to 329 cars.
Robertson added: “New models like the BMW 5 series Gran Turismo and the X1 will give sales a further boost in the second half of the year.”
German BMW and Mini sales in June rose 15.4% to 30,032 units.
Sales of 8,506 BMWs and Minis set a new monthly record in China last month, up 44.3%. Half year sales rose 24.1% to 37,627 units.
Growth was also seen in BRIC countries with India sales up 289 (from 240) and Brazil at 498 (from 242) in June. Half year sales in India were up 11.8% to 1,747 and Brazil rose 28.1% to 1,832.
