BMW Group year-to-date sales have slipped slightly but the Munich-based carmaker is still confident that all brands will exceed year-earlier sales returns by the end of the year.

Sales of 94,410 vehicles in May (2002: 93,990) pushed year-to-date sales up to 447,840 units – compared to 449,340 in the same period last year.

A contributor to that downturn was a 12.7 per cent dip in 5-series sales pending the new model rollout.

BMW brand sales in the US increased by 2.9 per cent in May to 2.9 per cent to 21,830 units.

But the Mini continues to be the group's main success story: 14,500 units were sold in May (2002 = 11,200). By the end of May, 74,640 MINI had left the dealerships (+48.7 per cent). The UK is still the Mini's 'home market' with 17,910 units sold so far this year, followed by the USA (14,610), Germany (11,390), Italy (9,240) and Japan (4,960).