German Car manufacturer BMW has announced a return to profit in contrast to last year as well as giving a positive prediction for sales in the forthcoming year.
The group reported a net profit of 324m euros ($420m; £277m) for the first 3 months of the year, as opposed to a loss of 152m euros last year.
Sales came in at 12.4bn euros, up 8% on the 11.5bn euros the firm reported for the 1st 1 / 4 of last year and the firm sold twice as many vehicles in China as it did in 2009.
BMW actually made a loss in the 1st 1 / 4 in 2009 as a result of reduced sales during the downturn in the economy.
“The BMW Group has made a good start to 2010,” said BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer.
“We increased earnings significantly in the first quarter and are now back on a growth course on almost all car markets.”
He said the group was aiming to achieve “significantly” higher earnings in 2010 than in 2009.
To make this happen, Mr Reithofer said BMW planned to sell 1.3 million cars in 2010.
BMW launched the brand new 5-series earlier this year, a model which it expects will increase revenue as well as assist the company in holding on to its position as the world’s number one selling luxury car manufacturer when confronted with growing competition from Audi and Mercedes.
In the past, the 5-series has contributed a substantial proportion of BMW’s overall sales.
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