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Frankfurt - German top-of-the-range carmaker BMW said on Thursday it achieved a new sales record in 2012 and is hoping to improve on that again this year.
BMW said in a statement it sold a total 1.845 million vehicles last year, an increase of 10.6 percent over 2011.
In December alone, it sold 181 571 vehicles, which represents a rise of 14.8% year-on-year.
"2012 was a very successful year for us," boasted sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson.
"The BMW group achieved its best ever sales result for the second year in a row and expanded its lead in the premium segment," Robertson said.
And he continued: "We enter the new year with positive momentum and despite the prevailing headwinds in some markets, we aim to achieve another record year in sales in 2013."
BMW planned to launch its all-electric BMW i3 "towards the end of the year," Robertson said.
Sales growth was driven mainly by overseas demand for the BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands.
While European sales edged up by 0.8% in 2012, sales in Asia raced ahead by 31.6%, with Chinese sales soaring by 40.4%.
In the Americas, sales were up 11.9% last year, BMW said.
