BMW on target to sell million cars

Sales of the Mini Cooper were strong

MUNICH, Germany (CNN) -- Luxury German car maker BMW has announced a 3.8 percent rise in first quarter profits and says it is on target to sell more than one million cars this year.

Net income rose to 632 million euros ($581 million) in the three months to March 31 from 609 million a year ago, the company said on Tuesday. Sales rose 14 percent to 10.8 billion euros.

Pretax profit slipped 1.8 percent to 1 billion euros, beating analysts' expectations. Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a pretax profit of 910 million euros.

BMW (FBMW) expects to beat its 2001 unit sales, record sales and earnings as it concentrates on its luxury brand strategy, which has enabled it to escape the battering many mass market producers have experienced due to the global economic slowdown.

"At first glance, it all looks very solid. Sales are better than consensus and profit from ordinary activity also came in better than expected," analyst Lars Ziehn at Deutsche Bank told Reuters.

Sales of the 7-Series, its controversially-styled flagship model, rose 52 percent to 11,461 cars -- including 1,436 old models -- while sales of the X-5 sport-utility vehicle rose 35 percent to 22,926.

It sold 27,691 Mini-branded cars, a new version of the 1960s British cult car, in the first quarter, including 17,422 Mini Coopers.

BMW's 3-series remain the top brand selling 1,46,442, up 9 percent on the year ago quarter.

The company said it plans to launch further versions of the 7-Series and expects to present a successor to the Z3 two-seater sports car in the autumn, while it also develops an assault on Volkswagen's Golf and Ford's Focus with a small 1-series.

BMW's earnings performance is in sharp contrast to mass-market carmaker Volkswagen (FVOW), Europe's biggest car maker, which said net income fell by a quarter to 627 million euros as sales dipped 5.4 percent to 21.27 billion euros.