Chinese sales boost BMW’s profit

BMW’s fortunes are in the fast lane due to soaring demand in China. The company reported an 83 percent jump in quarterly operating profit.

The biggest contributor to earnings was the 5 series, though the top-of-the-line 7 Series saloon was also popular with the Chinese where demand for luxury cars continues to rise.

BMW is now third in terms of profitability in the global car industry behind Porsche and Ferrari.

BMW – along with Mercedes and Audi – is enjoying a golden year for profits, but has emphasized this level of earnings strength may not be sustainable.

Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer said the economic environment will continue to be extremely volatile in part due to the euro zone sovereign debt crisis and brinkmanship in the United States over the debt ceiling.

“Global risks continue to increase rather than decrease. There are concerns about the sizeable national debt of many countries,” he said.

Against this background, China looks particularly bright as a source of record profits for German luxury carmakers.

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