Vehicle deliveries for the first ten months of 2011 were also up by 15.2% to 1,371,863 (2010: 1,190,796) compared to figures taken from the same period last year.  

Ian Robertson, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Sales and Marketing, said: ‘Our vehicles continue to be in strong demand worldwide and once again we achieved record sales for the month of October. The BMW Group is well on its way to reaching its target of more than 1.6m units and achieving an all-time high for sales in 2011. The new BMW 1 Series has had a successful start and we have had an excellent customer response to the new BMW 3 Series sedan, which will be launched worldwide on February 11 2012. We are very confident that this new model will continue the success story of the BMW 3 Series.’

The BMW brand sold 115,136 (prev. yr. 107,796) vehicles worldwide in October and grew at a rate of 6.8% year-on-year. The BMW 5 Series maintains its position as the clear segment leader with strong sales of over 25,000 units in October (26,370; prev. yr. 23,808/+10.8%). The new BMW X3 also continued to be popular with customers, with worldwide sales soaring 333.8% last month to 10,949 vehicles (prev. yr. 2,524). The BMW X5 remains market leader worldwide in its segment and celebrated an important milestone in October by reaching sales of over 500,000 vehicles since its launch in December 2006. With 8,290 vehicles sold last month, sales for the BMW X5 remain close to last year's level (prev. yr. 8,585/-3.4%). Sales for the new BMW 6 Series have gained strong momentum, with 1,152 units sold in October, an increase of 506.3% over the same month last year (prev. yr. 190).

The BMW 7 Series continues to perform well, with October sales of the BMW flagship rising 36.4% to 6,271 units (prev. yr. 4,597).

The MINI brand achieved a new sales record for October. Volumes rose 16.2% to 23,839 units (prev. yr. 20,523). In the year to the end of October, 232,056 units (prev. yr. 188,275/+23.3%) were sold. The MINI Countryman continued to report strong sales with 8,645 vehicles sold last month (prev. yr. 3,525/+145.2%).

The newest and fifth member of the MINI family, the MINI Coupé also got off to an excellent start in October. Robertson commented: ‘When we launched the new MINI ten years ago, we created the premium small-car segment. Since then, we've been busy growing the MINI family. New additions to the line-up have propelled MINI to new sales records. And now with the new MINI Coupé and MINI Roadster, we fully expect MINI's momentum to continue.’