In its third quarter financial results report, Mini parent BMW says sales of Mini brand cars during the third quarter, at 47,713 units, were 1.0% ahead of the previous year.

The BMW Group sold 142,881 Mini brand cars during the first nine months of 2004, an increase of 4.2% over the previous year (first nine months 2004: 137,130 units). The Mini Convertible, which was launched in July 2004 and which is now available with three engine options, had sold 9,320 units by the end of September.

In contrast, Rolls-Royce sales have met less than half the 1,000 units per annum target quoted when BMW launched its new Sussex-built model. 166 Rolls-Royce cars were handed over to customers in the period July to September 2004 (third quarter 2003: 52 units). The BMW Group has delivered 485 Rolls-Royce brand cars during the period from January to September 2004, which represents a significant increase over the deliveries completed by the former Crewe operation (first nine months 2003: 71 units).

Saab’s new car sales have also seen a rise, with October registrations at 1,562 units, 53.3% higher than the same month last year.

Saab’s sales so far this year are up by more than one third, at over 17,000 cars, and have already exceeded last year’s total.