The success of the Mini car has helped BMW record a global sales rise of 17 per cent on the year in January, according to new figures.
Total sales for the BMW Group, which includes Mini and Rolls-Royce vehicles, rose to 82,120 cars.
BMW also revealed that sales of its Mini models rose 20 per cent, with 12,181 being sold around the world last month.
Ian Robertson, board member for BMW, said that models such as the new 5 Series and the Mini Countryman will help the group deliver a single digit growth percentage range for 2010, while it also hopes to sell more than 1.3 million vehicles this year.
Phil Lanning, writing in the Sun, said that the Countryman, Mini’s biggest ever car, will be the firm’s most practical thanks to more interior space and four individual seats, with the two in the back also folding flat to allow storage.