Strong profits for BMW driven by improved trading conditions and demand from Asia

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German car manufacturer BMW has announced a tremendous increase in profits, as a result of the recovery in international markets, consumer demand from China and solid sales of new models.

The company made 834m euros (£692.8m; $1.1bn) between April and June, an increase of 121m euroson 2009 while sales increased by 18.3% to 15.35bn euros.

BMW had previously raised its 2010 sales and earnings forecasts in July.

BMW CEO Norbert Reithofer confirmed the firm planned to enhance full-year sales by around 10% to over 1.4 million vehicles.

“We are aiming to achieve significantly higher group earnings in 2010 than in 2009,” he said.

The number of BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce cars sold rose by 12.5% in the quarter and included a 5.6% rise in the US AND growth of 3.6% in Europe.

The most impressive growth was seen in Asia however, where quarterly sales were up by a staggering 59.4% at just under 70,000 units.

More than 45,000 of these sales were in China and Taiwan – almost double the volume seen in the same period last year.

“Sharp sales volume growth on major markets and a high-value model mix are the main reasons for the strong second-quarter performance,” Mr Reithofer said.

He added that improved economic conditions had allowed it to charge more for its cars, which had bolstered profits.