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(Sharecast News) - BMW Group reported a decline in first-half vehicle sales on Friday as a sharp downturn in China offset growth in Europe and the US.
The German carmaker delivered 1.15m vehicles worldwide in the six months to the end of June, down 4.2% over last year.
China was the main drag, with deliveries falling 20.4% to 261,773 vehicles. The decline accelerated in the second quarter, when sales in the region dropped 30.2% to 117,815.
By contrast, first-half sales rose 5.4% in Europe to 496,651, representing the company's largest market, and increased 3.9% in the US to 200,661. Germany recorded growth of 10.2% to 149,135, while the wider Americas region was ahead 3.0% at 244,199.
Sales of BMW-branded vehicles fell 6.2% to just over 1m units, but posted growth in both Europe and the US. MINI deliveries jumped 11.7% to 149,538, marking a sixth consecutive quarter of growth, while Rolls-Royce sales declined 9.8%.
Jochen Goller, BMW management board member responsible for customer, brands and sales, said: "Despite challenges worldwide, we achieved positive sales results in the US and Europe."
Goller added that the Neue Klasse range continued to show "strong momentum", with orders for the new BMW iX3 on track to reach 100,000.
Fully electric BMW and MINI sales rose 5.2% in the second quarter to 116,807 vehicles, supported by a 38% increase in Europe following the launch of the iX3. However, first-half battery-electric deliveries remained 7.4% lower at 204,295.
BMW shares were up 0.3% at 58.46 by 1331 BST.