BMW, Mercedes clock up record sales

German automakers BMW and Mercedes said Friday they attained record sales in 2014, their fourth in a row, driven by rising demand in all regions.

Top-of-the-range maker BMW said in a statement it delivered more than two million vehicles to customers in 2014, “the company’s fourth record year in a row.”

It said it sold a total 2.118 million BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles, 7.9 percent more than the year before.

“I am delighted that we achieved our target of selling more than two million vehicles in 2014, a new record for the BMW group. We have seen good growth throughout the year, well spread across all major sales regions,” said the group’s sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson.

“We are now looking forward to building on these successes in 2015.”

Separately, Mercedes-Benz, which is owned by Daimler, also posted the “best-ever sales in the company’s history.”

Sales of Mercedes-Benz rose by 12.9 percent to 1.65 million, its fourth straight year of record demand.

“Mercedes-Benz is on a course of success. The best sales in our company’s history show that our product offensive is bearing fruit,” said chief executive Dieter Zetsche.

He attributed the group’s success “in particular to our compact cars, the new C-Class and the S-Class.”

But the group managed to increase grow unit sales in all core markets, Zetsche said.

“In 2015, we will continue our product offensive in the SUV (sports utility vehicle) segment,” the CEO added.