Chinese buyers accelerate BMW results

The company reported an 83 per cent jump in quarterly operating profit at its luxury car business, underpinned by surging sales of the 5 series and a 4.8 percentage point widening in its operating margin to 14.4 percent.

Although BMW is enjoying a golden year for profits, like Mercedes and Audi the carmaker tempered expectations by predicting a return in the longer term to margins of eight to ten per cent.

By contrast, Toyota Motor Corp slumped to its first quarterly loss in two years after the March 11 tsunami virtually halted production, and the Japanese auto giant warned that the stronger yen was “hobbling” it in the battle against South Korean rivals.