LONDON - Britain-based luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce Motor reported record car sales in 2012 with the United States and China remaining as its most significant individual markets, said the company on Thursday.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, now owned by German carmaker BMW, said its Rolls-Royce's sales advanced by 1 percent to 3,575 globally in 2012, which represents the third consecutive record and the best sales result for the brand in its 108-year history.

It was the company's third consecutive year of record sales, but the growth rate was well below the 31 percent and 150 percent growth delivered in 2011 and 2010 respectively.

However, strong sales growth was reported in many regions, with notable results seen in the Middle East with sales going up 26 percent, mainland Europe up 21 percent and Asia Pacific up 18 percent.

A number of markets reported record sales, including Saudi Arabia with an increase of 63 percent and Germany with a growth of 15 percent, and China which led Asia sales with an increase of 40 percent.

According to Rolls, it opened 30 new or refurbished dealerships across the world, taking the total to over 100 for the first time in the company's history, and also expanded into new markets, including Latin America, and sold motor cars in more than 40 countries worldwide.

"We had an outstanding year in spite of the challenges we faced, and Rolls-Royce now leads the ultra luxury market by some considerable margin," chief executive Torsten Muller-Otvos said.

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