BMW says auto sales slump eased in June

Slumping sales by German luxury car makers BMW and Daimler eased in June, suggesting a slight recovery might lie ahead, figures released by the companies showed on Tuesday.

BMW warned however that more time was needed to determine if the improvement would last.

BMW delivered 127,500 vehicles worldwide, making June the company's best month this year even though the figure represented a decrease of 12.7 percent from June 2008, a statement said.

Daimler, which owns Mercedes-Benz, limited its loss even more, posting a 12-month drop of 6.7 percent to 111,300 automobiles for its combined brands, according to a statement.

The decline was half that seen in May as sales "recovered noticeably in many western European markets, while also continuing to develop positively in China," it said.

"We expect to see our sales stabilize in the second half of 2009," Mercedes sales director Klaus Maier added.

BMW counterpart Ian Robertson pointed to "early signs of a slight recovery on automobile markets.

"But it will take time to see if the trend is sustainable," he added.

In the first half of 2009, BMW group sales lost 19.5 percent to 615,500 vehicles, with its two leading brands, BMW and Mini, showing comparable drops.

Rolls-Royce sales were off by a third at 329 models however, while sales of BMW motorcycles shed 16 percent.

BMW continues to suffer from heavy exposure to the US market, its biggest, where sales have plummeted by almost 28 percent since the beginning of the year compared with the same period in 2008.

Sales gained 24 percent in China at the same time but were not enough in terms of volume to make up the difference.

Daimler first-half sales of its Mercedes, AMG, Smart and Maybach brands fell 18.5 percent to 544,400 vehicles, with especially strong drops in western Europe and the United States. Chinese sales jumped by 40 percent meanwhile.