BERLIN -- BMW affirmed its target to increase sales this year after group sales rose in May driven by strong demand in China.
"Despite the ongoing competitive and volatile global market environment, the BMW Group expects to achieve an increase in sales in 2019," BMW said in a statement on Thursday, adding it will continue to prioritize profitability over volume.
Sales of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles increased 3.2 percent in May to 210,563. China sales jumped 33 percent to 60,903.
BMW brand's volume was up 4.6 percent to 181,888 in May while Mini sales fell 5.1 percent to 28,255 after BMW scheduled a four-week break in production at its Oxford, England, plant in preparation for Brexit, which was postponed.
BMW said SUV sales helped to boost growth in May with volume of X-badged models up 30 percent to 82,425.
In the first five months, group sales increased 0.8 percent to 1,012,093.
