BMW, the world’s leading luxury carmaker, posted record sales in June, with global deliveries breaching the 1 million mark during the first six months of a year for the first time thanks to strong demand in Asia, the company announced on Tuesday.

Worldwide sales of the Munich-based group jumped by 6.9 per cent to 1.02 million units sold during the first half when compared with the same period last year, BMW reported.

“This is the first time we’ve sold more than a million cars in the first half of the year and [this] underscores the strength of our premium brands within the BMW Group,” said BMW chief Ian Robertson.

“June is the latest in a long line of record months and the figures confirm we’re on the right track to achieve our target of delivering more than 2 million vehicles in 2014,” he said.

BMW expects its sales growth to continue during the second half of the year, following the release of new models, including the BMW X4 and BMW 2 Series Active Tourer.

June deliveries climbed 4.8 per cent to reach a total of 193,342 vehicles, compared with the same month last year, reported BMW, whose stable of brands includes its flagship BMW, the compact urban Mini and the top-of-the-range Rolls Royce.

Leading the gain in group deliveries was a 7.3 per cent surge in worldwide sales of the BMW brand vehicles in June.

Since the start of the year, 886,347 BMWs have been delivered to customers worldwide — an increase of 10.2 per cent more units moved compared with the same period last year.

BMW sales to Asia gained by 18.3 per cent in the first half, helped along by a 23.1 per cent rise in China. US sales were up 5.1 per cent.

The group also posted a 2.1 per cent gain in Europe, adding to signs of a recovery in the region’s car market, which was hit by the euro debt crisis.

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