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BMW said on Friday that sales of premium cars
and sport-utility vehicles at its core brand rose 8.4 percent
last month from a year earlier to 139,399 autos. Audi,
Volkswagen's flagship luxury brand, announced on Thursday
144,000 deliveries in July.
July was the third month this year that saw Audi outsell BMW,
which has been the premium-car sales leader since overtaking
Daimler's Mercedes-Benz division in 2005. Audi, which has
ranked second since 2011, and Mercedes have each vowed to take
the top spot by the end of the decade.
BMW said seven-month brand sales increased 10 percent to a
record 1.03 million autos. Still, Audi has shrunk the
year-to-date sales gap to BMW to 12,397 autos despite an ageing
model lineup.
A year ago the gap was 21,035 autos, so it has narrowed by 40
percent this year, according to company records.
Weakening momentum at BMW reflects lower sales gains in core
European markets and the United States, where seven-month group
deliveries, including the Mini and Rolls-Royce brands, were up
2.8 percent and 5.4 percent respectively.
By comparison, Audi's sales increased 6.7 percent in Europe and
13 percent in the United States. VW's flagship division has also
been growing faster in China than BMW and Mercedes.
BMW Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer said in a June 2 interview
with German magazine Automobilwoche that the carmaker was
reconsidering to what extent competing with rivals Audi and
Mercedes for the title of luxury-sales champion was still a
priority for BMW.
(Reporting by Andreas Cremer and Maria Sheahan; Editing by
Christoph Steitz and Susan Fenton)
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