BMW runaway sales in Year of Horse

A BMW Z4 is pictured on April 29, 2013 at the Shanghai Auto Show.[Photo/Yan Daming for China Daily]

Finishing 2013 with "unexpected" sales growth of about 20 percent, German premium vehicle producer BMW AG is looking to exploit the Chinese Year of the Horse in 2014, with aggressive marketing campaigns and massive product launches.

"2013 was a very successful year for BMW. Although the final sales figures won't be disclosed for a few more days, we will report more than 350,000 unit deliveries under the BMW brand and an all-time sales record of 28,000 MINI cars, an almost 20 percent increase from 2012," said Karsten Engel, president and CEO of BMW China.

"China will, for the first time, become the largest single country market for the BMW group, after being the top market for the BMW brand in 2012," Engel said in Beijing on Monday.

He predicted 10 percent annual growth for China's luxury vehicle sector in the long run, "based on China's positive economy development, in line with a 7.5 percent GDP increase every year.

Engel told China Daily the German company expects "low double-digit growth" in 2014, when it plans to launch more than 10 new models to support local sales.

"The Chinese Year of the Horse is symbolic to BMW, as the name means 'precious horse' in Chinese.

The company on Monday announced the launch of two sporty new models to kick off its new campaign.

The M6 Grand Coupe and new M5 are both in limited Horse Editions, said Engel, adding that they both set a new record of about 2 minutes and 28 seconds in a single loop at the Shanghai International Circuit.

In the second half of the year, BMW will introduce two totally electric models, i3 and i8, to the Chinese market.

Engel added that for its electric car sales, BMW will initially concentrate on five cities: Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Shenyang, where "a dedicated team has already been working with local authorities and partners on charging infrastructures" to power the cars.

According to Engel, in 2013, 60 percent of BMW's sales growth came from locally produced cars.