BMW runaway sales in Year of Horse

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.