BMW posts record sales in 2013

German giant carmaker BMW sold more cars than ever before in the past year, due to strong demand from China and the United States, the company said Monday.

About 1.96 million cars of its brands such as BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce were delivered worldwide in 2013, the Munich-based company said in a statement. Sales rose by 6.4 percent compared with the previous year.

Sales of the BMW brand alone rose by 7.5 percent to 1.65 million vehicles in 2013, surpassing its rivals Volkswagen's Audi and Daimler's Mercedez-Benz, which globally delivered 1.57 million units and 1.46 million units respectively.

"The BMW Group posted record sales once again in 2013 and is clearly the number one in the premium segment," said Ian Robertson, board member of BMW responsible for sales and marketing.

In the past year, BMW's sales in Asia increased by 17.3 percent to 576,616 vehicles, among which 390,713 were delivered in the Chinese mainland. Sales in China rose by 19.7 percent compared with the previous year.

In the United States, BMW sales climbed by 8.1 percent to 375,782 units. In its home market of Europe, BMW deliveries declined slightly by 0.7 percent, though reaching 858,990 units, the largest portion of its total sales.

BMW was optimistic about its new year outlook. "Despite the prevailing headwinds in many markets, we aim to increase sales and make 2014 another record year," said Robertson.